Notice

GRAHAM, James Robert, of Carterton, New Zealand and formerly of London, England and Rathfarnham, Dublin, Ireland passed away suddenly and peacefully on July 4th, 2015 at his home in Ponatahi. Beloved husband of Rebecca and father of adored daughter Jessica, son of Bob and Eileen, brother of Peter, Susan and Cathi. Very sadly missed by his brothers-in-law Paul, Simon, Ciaran and Brian, sisters-in-law Lisa and Ruth, loving nieces and nephews, family and many friends around the world. James’ friends are invited to share in a celebration of his life to be held at “Ponatahi House”, Foreman-Jury Road, Carterton on Monday 13th July, at 2:00pm. 

In lieu of flowers, please, donations may be made to Wellington Free Ambulance along with messages.

There are a couple of ways you can donate:

1. Online through our website: https://donate.wfa.org.nz/

You can use the comment section to say where you would like the money to go.

2. Online banking:

Bank: Westpac

Account name: Wellington Free Ambulance Service Inc

Account number: 03 0502 0170069 00

Reference: Your name and/or Supporter number

3. By cheque:

Send a cheque (made payable to Wellington Free Ambulance) by post to:

Wellington Free Ambulance, 

PO Box 601, 

Wellington 6140.

Again, you can include a note with where you would like the money to go, as well as your details so we can send you a receipt.

James Graham Funeral Video

Ready to go

After a week of hard work, we are finally ready for tomorrow! We are so thankful for everyone who has helped us to plan for the service tomorrow. This time last week, we were wondering where the service would be, when it would be, not to mention how we were going to manage everything, as well as the fact that our formal lawn was just a lawn. This week, however, a magnificent marquee is up, along with some very fancy chairs and a stage. We have been blasting U2 - in true James style - and are relishing in the efforts of the past week. A special thank-you to Sally Laven (Accommodation and Dog Manager!), Megan Slight and Jo Cudmore (Garden Managers!), Paul Treacy and Marshall Jury (Marquee and Technical Managers!), and Ian Gordon, Philip Nixon and Sabine Chappard (Everything else Managers!), we really could not have done it without any of you. The marquee looks fantastic, as you will see below. See you tomorrow!

JG's Birthday Dinner

Today it was JG's birthday, so we decided to have a birthday party for all the friends and family who have so kindly come to be with us. With food from James's good friend Nick Arnold from Medici, it was a wonderful night and gave those closest to JG an opportunity to meet each other. Enjoy the photos!

Grandma and Granddad have arrived!

Bob and Eileen (James' parents) along with Peter, Sue and Cathi have arrived this morning! They were chauffeured over the hill by Ruth and PT. We are really happy to have them with us, despite their being a little tired! :)

STUFF ARTICLE - Mark Reason: Why Jimmy Graham is my sporting hero

James Graham died of a heart attack on Friday night.

OPINION: James Graham never made it to the game. He died of a heart attack on Friday night. There were no black armbands before the Super 15 final. There was not a minute's silence, except in the hearts of so many of James' friends. For the many of you who were unfortunate enough never to meet him, read on, because JG was one of the finest sportsmen this country has ever known.

It didn't matter if you were Sir Graham Henry or Carl Petersen, a good old boy from the local Wairarapa rugby club, James was there for you. Sitting around, having a beer, James was likely to not just be the smartest guy in the room, but also the kindest. It's what made him special.

Sir Graham says, "James and I were on the board of the Rugby Site together. He was a hell of a good man. It's a shock to hear of his death. He was very supportive of New Zealand rugby, of all rugby. He went everywhere, from internationals to the local club scene.

"I was a guest at his house last year. It was Matt Henry's first ODI for the Black Caps, they were playing India. I carried on for four hours about how Matt Henry was my son and I was pretty nervous for him. James was a top man. You always felt good when you had been in his company."

James cared passionately about sport. An Irishman married to a great Kiwi girl, one of the first things he did when he made his home in the Wairarapa, was to do a tour of the local rugby clubs. As soon as some got a whiff of James's money, they asked him to be a sponsor.

But Tuhirangi were different. A guy came up to James, welcomed him to the club and invited him in for a beer. That was good enough for James. Petersen says, "We held him in massive regard. He was supporter of the year for a couple of years. One year he never missed a game and we all knew how busy he was. He was second to none.

"He saw a bunch of good Kiwi lads having a bit of fun down the valley, trying their best. When I was about to fly off the handle at some official clown, I would ring him and he would give me some quiet advice. I rated him so highly."

I sometimes thought there must be five James Grahams in the Wairarapa. Last Monday, I went down to Clareville to pick up my son from futsal and saw a hockey match going on under the lights. There was a green beanie in the distance. James was there, he always was, supporting his daughter Jess.

And Jess, know this. Dad may be gone, but he will still always be on the sidelines for you, smiling, encouraging, never angry. And he will still be rooting for his wife Rebecca, who represents New Zealand at triathlon in the over-something age group.

James could have been a contender himself. He was a hell of an athlete as a kid, but then in his teens he was told that he had a heart defect. That's how James got to know Rob Waddell later on. They swapped heart stories. I'm not sure whose was bigger.

James cared, he really cared. He was a mate of Rob Morrison at the Phoenix, who he also regularly went to cheer on, and he supported a 15-year-old who plays for Karori. He proudly sent me a video of the kid flicking the ball over the keeper with his left foot.

James was always sending his mates sporting video links. Here are a couple of my favourites from the last six months. Take a look. One will make you laugh your head off, the other will warm your heart. Pure James.

I teased James that the World Cup was Ireland's to lose now, such was their run of recent form.

"Oh stop it, Mark," he would say.

On Sunday I asked Rebecca what would happen if Ireland played New Zealand in the World Cup final. Would the part of her that was aching for James, root for Ireland.

"Don't be silly," she said, big smile on her face.

That's why James loved her.

And although James couldn't play sport any more, he didn't just stay on the sidelines. He got involved with the stuff that mattered to him. We were both passionate about concussion. James refused to watch the Mayweather fight. He was disgusted at the man's history of bashing women and he would not pay money to watch men batter each other into unconsciousness.

He loved Peter Fitzsimons' great column when he rails against rugby league namesake James Graham; "Do you get that in the history of the world, no champion footballer – of which you are a prime example – has ever said, while able to stand, "You know what? I have been thinking closely about this, and I really think, for the sake of myself, my future and my family, I am going to have a spell."

So the 'real' James Graham invested in a company called Imprimatur that has developed a non-invasive tool for diagnosing brain injury. He always put his money where his heart was.

The battle scarred Irish tricolor flies today at half-mast outside the house of James, Rebecca and Jess. But for many of us the big Irishman lives on. You can keep your Roger Federers and your Tiger Woods, my sporting hero is James, Jimmy, JG, Graham. He was the ultimate sportsman.

- Mark Reason, Stuff.co.nz

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/70031805/mark-reason-why-jimmy-graham-is-my-sporting-hero