After a 5-year battle with ALS, Graham Harden II, 52, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 12, 2021 at his home in Terrace Park, OH. Graham was born on July15, 1968 in Newport News, VA to Holmes and Gail (Elder) Harden and grew up in New Canaan, CT. Graham attended New Canaan High School, Deerfield Academy (class of ’87), UNC-Chapel Hill (class of ’91), and the Kenan-Flagler Business School (class of ’00). He was a multi-sport athlete at New Canaan and Deerfield and an all-American D1 lacrosse standout at UNC. In 1991, Graham co-captained the UNC men’s lacrosse team to a historic 16-0 season and an NCAA championship and won the coveted Schmeisser Cup as the national defenseman of the year. After years of athletic success as a player and a reputation as a relentless and merciless competitor, Graham found his true life calling back on the field as a highly successful youth and high school boys and girls lacrosse coach at Mariemont High School and the Royals Lacrosse Club. Graham’s gift was the ability to teach his young players about integrity, compassion, sportsmanship, teamwork, and life values through sports. Through his personal struggle with ALS, his endless hours training and volunteering as a local firefighter and first responder, Graham enabled and inspired youth athletes to be more than just a good player…be a good citizen. In August of 2016, Graham was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease). Graham quickly decided he was going to tackle ALS with the spirit of a competitor and, along with his legion of supporters, established a movement called GForce to build awareness and effect progress in developing treatments for this currently incurable disease. His motto became “Game On, ALS”. Graham always had a passionate commitment to family, friends, neighbors, teammates, and youth. His community influence expanded outside Terrace Park to southern Ohio, Connecticut, North Carolina and beyond. He taught us all the importance of being humble and living for others.
