Martha Jean Graham

Mrs. Martha Jean Benson Graham, 81, of Dobson, went home to be with her Lord on October 31, 2018, at the Joan and Howard Woltz Hospice Home in Dobson. The oldest of 4 children, Mrs. Graham was born in the Woodleaf community of Rowan County.  After high school Mrs. Graham attended Mitchell College and then Catawba College, earning her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. While at Catawba, she met her husband Charles Cox Graham. Mrs. Graham was a career educator, retiring after 32 years of teaching at Little Richmond, Dobson, and Beulah Elementary Schools.  Mrs. Graham touched the lives of many children during her career and was known by her students as the “Peter Piper Lady” due to her unique ability to recite the tongue twister with rapid accuracy. The children were her passion, and she could describe in great detail almost all of her former students with incredible precision right up until the time of her passing. Mrs. Graham is survived by her son Charles Cox (Chuck) Graham II  and wife Angie; daughter Anna Robinson and husband Larrie; four grandchildren: Chase Graham (NC State), Carter Graham (UNCC), Carlie Bowers (UNCG) and Christian Robinson (Surry Central High School); one step-grandchild Mitchell Robinson and wife Kristi of Rock Hill, SC and one step-great grandchild Sophia Robinson; two brothers, George Benson of Salisbury, NC and Neel Benson of Marietta, GA. Mrs. Graham was preceded in death by her husband Charles Graham, her parents George Sidney Benson and Lelia Fleming Benson and her sister Julia Ann Shuping.  Funeral services will be held Saturday, November 3, 2018 at 2:00 pm at Dobson First Baptist Church in the sanctuary.  Interment will take place in the Hollywood Cemetery in Elkin, NC.  Pastor Cory Honeycutt will preside over the services.  The family will receive friends in the First Baptist Church Fellowship Center from 12:00 – 2:00 pm.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Surry County Schools Educational Foundation, PO Box 364, Dobson, NC 27017 or the Howard and Joan Woltz Hospice Home, 945 Zephyr Road, Dobson, NC 27017. The family wishes to express their sincere thanks to the many caregivers who assisted Mrs. Graham during her final years.  Moody-Davis Funeral Service is serving the Graham family.