Charles Mills Graham

Charles Mills Graham, 76, retired magistrate, of Cottonwood, Arizona, passed away Sunday, January 29, 2006. He was born on October 25, 1929 in Amarillo, Texas. He dedicated over 50 years of his life in Law Enforcement. After spending 3 years with the FBI, he served 23 years as an Arizona DPS Officer, and another 23 years as Municipal Judge, from which he took his retirement. He also served as Tribal Court Judge for the Yavapai-Apache Nation for 17 years. Judge Graham was very successful during his career as Magistrate. He was the type of individual that others appreciated working with, both inside and outside of his courtroom. Inside the courtroom, he accomplished success by being a good listener, a good judge of character, and a fair authority in reprimandation. As a judge, he was not only interested in the act or acts committed, but the reasons behind those actions taken, and he felt that it was his job to help solve these problems that people had found or put themselves in. Outside the courtroom, he appreciated the individuals that he worked with on a daily basis. He proudly gave credit to those deserving of it, realizing that it takes an entire staff to maintain the level of efficiency in which his court operated. Because of his time invested and the experience gained as a police officer, he was able to give sound advice and guidance to many officers in the Verde Valley. He did indeed, become a valued mentor to both the young and veteran officers. One of his most recoginzed accomplishments was being the first court in Arizona to adopt Community Service Hours as an alternative to sentencing fines. As a result of such, the Community has received much needed maintence and the defendents received necessary but fair punishment. Judge Graham was an alumnus of the National Judicial College and had been a member of the National Judges Association, and the Arizona Municipal Judges Association. In his liesure time, he was a hunter, a fisherman, but most of all, he was a good Christian. He is preceded in death by his first wife, Charlene Graham. He leaves behind his loving new bride of three years, Beverly A. Graham of Cottonwood, AZ; his two sons, Charles Graham of Glendale, AZ and Kelly Graham of Flagstaff, AZ; his daughter, Carrie Graham of Prescott, AZ; Daughter-in-law, Carey Linda Connelly of Phoenix, AZ; and 8 adored grandchildren. Funeral Services will be held on Friday, February 3, 2006 at Westcott Funeral Home, 1013 E. Mingus Ave. in Cottonwood at 10:00am. The family would like to extend a very special thanks to RTA Hospice for all the personal attention given to Charles, therefore, in lieu of flowers, please make any donations to RTA Hospice of Sedona, AZ at 70 Bell Rock Plaza, Sedona, AZ 86351. An online guestbook is available at www.westcottfuneralhome.com