John "Ned" Graef, of the Village of Kewaskum, went home to be with his Lord on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 days after his 94th birthday.
He was born on April 23, 1913 in Dayton, Ohio to the late Forrest and Ora Donella (nee Wicks) Graef. As a young man, Ned was very interested in flight. He enjoyed designing and flying his own glider as well as inventing a variety of toys and his very own camera. Throughout his life, Ned was fascinated by the theories of gravity and magnetic fields. He was also very interested in the theory of relativity.
Ned was united in marriage to Mary Summers and together they moved to Michigan where Ned began designing cameras and camera equipment for a company named Argus. Ned continued his career in camera design and optical technology for a variety of employers including ones that worked closely with NASA. Before his retirement, Ned was employed by Realist Inc. in Menomonee Falls as the chief design engineer of 3D photography. While working there he received the Governor's Award for New Design Of The Year for inventing the Vantage Microfische Reader. Ned was a wonderful father, and was known by his grandchildren as Grandpa the Great.
Ned is survived by his two loving daughters, Diane (John) Engel of Kewaskum, and Kathie (Larry) Whiffen of Milwaukee; his five grandchildren, Michael (Bridget) Carbiener of Denver CO, Darrin (Karla) Engel of Lake Worth FL, Justin Engel of Albuquerque NM, Brian Whiffen of Myrtle Beach SC, and Lisa (Joe) Garner of Jackson TN; his four great-grandchildren, Emily and Elizabeth Carbiener, and Shelby and Mason Whiffen. He is further survived by a brother Gordon Graef of Fort Wayne IN; and many other relatives and dear friends.
He was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, and his two brothers, Dick and Dan Graef.
A celebration of Ned's life will be held on Saturday, April 28, at 1:30 pm at First Baptist Church in West Bend (Butternut and Sandra Lane). Rev. Bruce Dunford will officiate and burial will follow in Cedar Creek Cemetery in the Town of Polk. Visitation with the family will be at the church on Saturday from 12:00 pm until the time of service at 1:30 pm.
Memorials to the First Baptist Church will be used to plant a tree in Ned's memory, and would be greatly appreciated by the family.