July 2017
Rev. Michael Graham, pastor at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Aurora, Illinois, died around midnight on July 11, 2017. Pastor Graham was a 1973 graduate of the University of Illinois in engineering. He graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1979. He continued post graduate studies at both Fuller Theological Seminary, in Pasadena, California, and at Trinity Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.
Fluent in Spanish, he was called as the Texas District Missionary at Large in Hispanic Missions in Houston, 1979-1984. He was an evangelism missionary in Guatemala, 1984-1989, and was called by St. Paul Lutheran Church and Emmanuel Lutheran Church, in Aurora, Illinois, as pastor and mission developer for their joint mission, Cristo Principe de Paz in Aurora, 1989 to 1995. He was serving as sole pastor of Emmanuel congregation at the time he was called to glory.
He has been the LCMS Northern Illinois District Circuit Visitor for South Region Circuit 23 since 2009.
He was married to Ana Rebecca Lopez, a native of Guatemala. The couple had two children, a son James and daughter Julia. He is survived by family and many friends.
Visitation will be held at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 550 Fourth Avenue, Aurora, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 21. The funeral will be at 12 p.m. on Saturday, July 22, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church.