Dr. John Joseph McGraw

I am really sad for your lost. Prof McGraw inspired me to value my cultural background more. As a matter of fact I am from Guatemala, and we used to talk a lot about my country and how much he loved it. I just found out he passed away, and I have to be honest it was really shocking because I recently took one of his Central American Studies class, and it is hard for me to assimilate I just say him a couple months ago. I am sending you my condolences and my best wishes for his entire family. I understand how hard it is for you, so I am sending you positive thoughts as well. He was so kind and an amazing human being. I will never forget how much passion he had for his work and how inspiring he was. Sincerely Rony Morales

I wanted to extend my condolences to the family and friends of John. My thoughts and prayers are with you in this trying time. I knew John in college and though our fraternity. I was always impressed by his intellectual curiosity, sharp wit, humility and integrity. He had a lasting impact on many of us in school; and we all fondly remember our times with him. John's spirit will live on through all the people he has touched.

John and I attended Cascia Hall together. At 15, I was very smitten with him, and he was very sincere when he inquired why I was so smitten. I just thought he was the kindest soul I had met. He was always a true gentleman. He was a great friend, with the right amount of self-deprecating humor and a witty way of conversing and expressing himself. He seemed totally at ease being what we couldn't define at that age. He was self assured and took everything in stride. We would talk for hours on the way to Debate tournaments, and he was a knight in shining armor when my old car refused to work. We talked over the years, here and there, always intending to get together, but never managing to keep those dates. The world was truly a better place with John in it, and now I am sad that he is gone from it.

To John's family - I hadn't seen or talked to John in many years, but remember him well and fondly from the summer that we were twenty and worked together in Paraguay. He was a unique spirit and I have no doubt became a wonderful adult. Much sympathy to you for your loss, Jessica

John was such a wonderful person and cousin. He was a true original and such good soul. He thought deeply and was continually curious. I will miss him so much. John, you were so loved in this world, God bless you in the next!

With his trusty side-kick . . .

The desert crew

Always up for a party . . .

Dinner in San Pedro, Guatemala

Above your Central American home

Pizza Port

Good times

Mountain Man

I am so sorry for your loss. I was very fortunate to meet John in our freshmen dorm, rowing and fraternity. When I moved to San Diego it was John who convinced me to venture outside the city and introduced me to North County. I will always remember the Pizza Port dinners, free Del Mar concerts, hiking trip to Mt San Gorgonio, various other outdoor adventures, and especially a trip to Anza Borrego (when he helped me get my disabled SUV unstuck from deep sand and back to San Diego safely). John's brilliant mind, compassion for others, and sense of adventure will always be an inspiration to me. My thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathy go out to you.

Belinda and family. Words cannot express how deeply sorry I am for your loss of John. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Sending much love and healing enery to you all. Shelly Ledford

I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family for John's passing. My thoughts and prayers are with you as you go through this difficult and frustrating time. John was a classmate and fraternity brother of mine at Stanford. His passing is a tragic loss. He was indeed the introspective soul of our Nu pledge class- he was the keeper of our values. He kept us honest and ensured that we acted as men with integrity and character. He was always caring, gentle, generous, and genuinely interested in you. He was a deep thinker and the sad thing is he was just getting started. He was moving up to Northridge last August, about 30 minutes from where I was living at the time, to take on a faculty position at Cal State Northridge and we just missed each other as I left for Belgium a few weeks before he arrived. Imagine the many young minds he could have positively shaped or the young intellects that could have been stirred if he had been around longer? Sometimes genius is short and fleeting on this earth, and I think this is unfortunately the case with John. I hope his restless, inquisitive mind will find peace and serenity. May his soul be comforted. We'll miss you John. Yves Zinggler (Stanford Class of 1998)

I am terribly sorry for your great loss. I pray God gives your family much peace in this tragic time. God bless.

John and his beloved Chico were our neighbors and treasured friends. Our lives were enriched, in so many ways, by having known John for 15 years. His integrity and honor, his intellect, his compassion for others and his passion for knowledge, eternal. Perpetual in our hearts, until we meet again dear friend, shine brightly.

Please accept my condoliances for your loss. Such a talented man. Sara Rich

John McGraw will always hold a dear place in our hearts. John had an insatiable appetite for knowledge that sustains the soul. John was a student team member of Kairos #1 and I feel he took that journey with him on his path. As Augustine says: “I still continue, I still make progress, I am still moving ahead, I am still on my way, I still reach forward, I have not yet arrived. Therefore, if you also keep moving, still reach forward and are attentive to what lies ahead, then forget what lies behind. Do not look back to these things, lest you remain fixed on what is already behind you. Remember the wife of Lot... We are complete and incomplete at the same time. Complete in our condition of travelers, incomplete because we do not yet possess our goal... You see that we are travelers. You ask, however: 'What does it mean to travel?' Briefly, it means to make progress, but you might understand this and begin to travel more slowly. Make progress, my brothers, examine yourselves honestly again and again. Put yourself to the test. Do not be content with what you are, if you want to become what you are not yet. For where you have grown pleased with yourself, there you will remain. But if you say, 'that's enough', you are finished. Always add something more, keep moving forward, always make progress” (Sermon 169, 15.18). Bill, Bonnie, Margaret (93), William C. Leighty

To the McGraw Ffamily: Robert and I cannot express our heartfelt sympathies enough to you at this difficult time. Please know you are in our prayers and this time and always. May God lift John up on his wings.

Our condolences. John & Chris McLemore

We are so incredibly shocked and saddened to hear the news of Johns passing. We simply cannot fathom the grief you must be going through right now. We went through some of our pictures that are a lasting reminder of the incredibly good and precious memories we have of John, and all the adventures, trips, vacations and good times he shared with us. John opened his home and life to us when we had freshly arrived in San Diego at the beginning of a dear friendship 10 years ago. John was a generous and genuinely kind spirit, incredibly smart and witty, and a dependable friend. We wish you strength, courage and love in the incredibly difficult weeks and months ahead. Please know that John made an indelible mark on our lives and will not be forgotten. Mark Huising Talitha van der Meulen

John Sea Kayaking off the SoCal coast

John in Guatemala, July 2010

John with Mark Huising at the Tikal temples in Guatemala, July 2010

Dearest McGraw Family, Our hearts are breaking for you. John was a brilliant, kind, precious soul. May Angels surround you and walk with you. Our Deepest Sympathy, with Love, Dana Teale Callahan and Samuel L. Paddack (John and Samuel grew up together and went to Kanakuk Kamp together. Sam has wonderful memories of John.)