Dad lived a full and remarkable life. He was a soldier, an athlete, a father, a grandfather, a partner, a brother, a cousin and a friend. He loved his country, his family, his community and the many friendships he made along the way.
Francis Quiller Graham, known throughout his life simply as Quiller, was born in Ottawa on June 19, 1942, to Cyrill Cuthbert Porter Graham and Sara Amelia Diana Chase. He grew up with his older brother, Geoff Graham, and his sister, Jane Graham Barclay. Ottawa would remain home throughout much of his life, even as his military career took him and his own family across Canada and around the world.
Dad attended Fisher Park High School in Ottawa before entering the Royal Military College of Canada in 1961, graduating with the Class of 1965, College No. 6535. RMC became an important part of who Dad was and remained so throughout his life.
He was also a gifted and fiercely competitive athlete. At RMC he played football and excelled in boxing, winning the recruit boxing championship and the intercollegiate middleweight championship. He was awarded the Gold Cup as RMC’s best boxer and became Captain of the RMC intercollegiate boxing team. Somewhere along the way, he earned the unforgettable nickname “Quiller Killer” Graham.
Following RMC, Quiller began a long career as an Armoured Corps officer in the Canadian Army and later the Canadian Armed Forces, eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His service took him throughout Canada and to Germany, the United States, NATO Europe and the Middle East. His early service included the Fort Garry Horse, and military life would shape much of the next chapter of his life.
One particularly important posting came in 1973, when, as a Major, Quiller served in Cairo, Egypt, during the establishment of the United Nations Emergency Force following the Yom Kippur War. Many assignments and responsibilities would follow, but Dad remained deeply proud throughout his life of having served Canada.
His Sons and Family
Beyond his military career, Dad was the proud father of Geoffrey and Tyson, his two sons with Kirsten, with whom he shared an important chapter of his life and the experience of raising their family together.
Being raised in a military family meant that Geoff and Tyson experienced a childhood filled with moves, new places and new experiences. Dad’s career also meant military exercises and periods when he was away from home. Over the years the family lived in different cities and countries, including Atlanta, Montreal and Ottawa, before moving to Germany in 1981.
When Dad was home, he introduced his boys to many of the things he enjoyed and encouraged them to try just about anything. He took them to the public rink and taught them to skate, helped coach hockey when his military duties allowed, and introduced them to skiing in Banff, tennis, squash, table tennis and baseball. There were also BB guns and archery, music and cars, and plenty of other interests along the way. Some were simply part of growing up, while others became interests they carried with them into adulthood.
As Geoff and Tyson grew older, Dad’s relationship with each of his sons grew and changed as well. The miles sometimes separated them, particularly with Tyson building his life in Germany, but they never diminished Dad’s love for his son or his interest in his life. Calls, visits and time together remained important, and Dad warmly welcomed Christine and her daughter Caroline into the family and into his life.
Dad and his son Geoff also became particularly close, and over the years their relationship grew into a genuine friendship. As Geoff began building a family of his own, Dad became an increasingly important part of it.
And then there was Coco.
From the very beginning, she was simply Coco to Dad. He loved her enormously, and over the years their relationship became one of the closest and most important relationships in his life.
Dad had tremendous respect for Coco. He admired her intelligence, her strength and the career she built as a professional in government. He knew what an incredible wife she was to Geoff and would see firsthand what an extraordinary mother she became. Dad respected the person she was, and he knew just how important Coco was to Geoff and to the family they were building together.
Dad trusted Coco completely. He found tremendous warmth, joy and comfort in her, and there was an ease between the two of them that came from many years of genuinely loving and respecting one another. To Dad, Coco was never simply his daughter in law. He loved her as one of his own.
And, of course, Dad loved Coco’s cooking. He considered her one of the best cooks around, and her rare roast beef was a particular favourite. Dad was always happy to find himself at Geoff and Coco’s table, eating, talking, laughing and surrounded by family.
Then came Ryan, followed three years later by Mitchell, and Dad became Papa.
It was a role he absolutely cherished.
Dad spent countless hours with Geoff, Coco and the boys and became a huge part of Ryan and Mitchell’s lives as they grew up. He attended virtually every sporting event he could. Camera in hand, he filmed their games and achievements, cheered from the sidelines and took enormous pride in whatever they were doing. It wasn’t simply the sports that mattered to him. He loved being there.
There were countless experiences and interests shared along the way. Golf was one of them. Dad enrolled himself and Ryan at the Hylands Golf and Country Club, where Ryan developed a love for the game that continues today, while Mitchell would later develop his own passion for golf as well. It was one of many things that became part of their lives as the boys grew up with Papa nearby.
More than anything, Dad was enormously proud of Ryan and Mitchell, the men they became and the lives they were building for themselves.
In 2025, our family travelled together to Portugal for Ryan and Ekta’s wedding. It was a spectacular wedding and a beautiful family celebration. Having Dad there with us, surrounded by family and watching Ryan and Ekta marry, became one of those memories that means even more to us now.
Mitch and his fiancée, Leanna Berry, were also building their own life together, with Brynn becoming another much loved part of our growing family. Dad had the joy of watching both of his grandsons move into these new chapters of their lives.
And he knew there was one more Graham on the way.
Mitch and Leanna were expecting their son, Wesley, Dad’s first great grandchild. Papa didn’t get the chance to meet him, but he knew Wesley was coming. For a man who found so much happiness in watching his family grow, there was something very special in knowing that the next generation of the family was already on its way.
The Graham Family
Dad’s love of family extended well beyond his immediate family.
He was predeceased by his beloved older brother, Geoff Graham, and his sister, Jane Graham Barclay. Dad and his big brother Geoff were particularly close, and that closeness naturally extended to their families.
The Ottawa Grahams and the Montreal Grahams shared many wonderful times together over the years. We often travelled to Montreal to visit Geoff and Joan and their boys, and those visits were always special. The cousins had a great time growing up together, and so did the adults. They were simply happy family occasions, filled with conversation, laughter and the kind of memories that stay with a family for generations.
Dad also shared a warm and lasting relationship with his sister in law, Joan Graham, and cared deeply for his nieces and nephews and, as the years went on, their growing families as well. Even as everyone grew older and lives became busier, those connections remained very important to him.
That interest in family eventually sent Dad looking further back through the generations. He spent considerable time researching the Graham family tree, tracing relatives, discovering distant cousins and, in some cases, reaching out and establishing relationships with family members he had never known.
That was very much Dad. It wasn’t enough for him simply to discover where someone fit on the family tree. He wanted to know who they were.
Maureen
Dad was also incredibly fortunate to find love and companionship again later in life. For the final 13 years of his life, he shared a wonderful life with his loving partner and best friend, Maureen Leeson.
Our family still smiles when we think about a trip we took together to Jamaica around the time Dad and Maureen had first met. While the rest of us were enjoying the sun, sand and turquoise water, every once in a while someone would ask, “Where’s Dad?” More than once, we found him back in his hotel room, texting Maureen. We could tell he was excited about this wonderful woman he had met, and that something very special was beginning.
What started with those early conversations grew into a loving partnership. Dad and Maureen genuinely made each other happy. They travelled, shared adventures and built a life together filled with love, friendship and respect. We could all see how happy Dad was with Maureen, and the adventures and experiences they shared meant so much to him.
Through Maureen came another wonderful part of Dad’s life: her very large family in the Kemptville area. Dad became a regular at their huge Sunday dinners, family celebrations and special occasions, surrounded by Maureen’s children, grandchildren and extended family. He loved the time they spent together at the Farm, where there was always family around, plenty of conversation and laughter, and Dad felt completely at home. There were also many happy times together at the Leeson family cottage, but it was being welcomed into this large, close family that meant the most to him. Over the years, they became his family too, and he loved being part of it.
And in exactly the same way, Maureen became a member of our family. She was always there for Dad, sharing the adventures and happy times and standing beside him whenever he needed her. She brought Dad love, companionship, laughter and comfort throughout their years together.
We will always be grateful for the love Maureen gave Dad and for the happiness they found together. It was clear to all of us just how much they meant to one another. Maureen and her family will always be part of our family, just as Dad will always be part of theirs.
A Life of Curiosity, Service and Friendship
Dad’s service to others did not end when he left the military. He became involved with the Canadian War Museum’s Oral History Project, interviewing veterans and peacekeepers and helping preserve their firsthand experiences for future generations. It suited him well. Dad understood that history was ultimately about people and the lives they had lived.
He also volunteered his time delivering Meals on Wheels, something he genuinely enjoyed. Dad was always willing to help someone when he could, never looking for recognition or expecting anything in return.
Dad’s interests were wonderfully varied. He loved reading, photography, sports and art and had an eclectic taste in music. Miles Davis and jazz could be followed by Cat Stevens, Tracy Chapman or Paul Simon. He was curious by nature, always interested in learning something new, and could often surprise you with the range of subjects that caught his attention.
Cars were another lifelong passion. Dad loved vintage sports cars and became involved with the Ottawa MG Club, where he served as Treasurer and enjoyed the friendships and adventures that came with the club. He also served on the Parish Council of St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church in Ottawa.
These were parts of Dad’s life, but they were never what defined him. What mattered more were the people he met through them, the friendships he made and the opportunity to contribute.
Dad was intelligent, thoughtful, competitive and sometimes stubborn. He had a dry sense of humour and could be quiet, but his presence was unmistakable. He was genuinely interested in people and could connect across generations. He listened, asked questions and wanted to know what people were doing with their lives. He never needed to be the centre of attention and certainly never wanted anyone making a fuss over him.
Ottawa and Home
Dad lived in a number of places throughout Ottawa over the years, including Highland Avenue, Ridgewood and Woodroffe Crescent, but Ottawa was always home. In the later and longest chapter of his life, home became Thessaly Circle in Alta Vista, a house and community he truly loved.
Dad was blessed with incredible friends and neighbours there who became an important part of his everyday life. They checked on Dad, and Dad checked on them. They talked, helped one another and looked out for each other in the way good neighbours do.
That sense of community meant a great deal to Dad, and our family will always be grateful for the friendships he found there and for the people who made sure he knew he was surrounded by friends.
Remembering Dad
In Dad’s final days, Coco and Maureen were there with him. Both had been such important parts of his life, and both brought him tremendous love, strength and comfort. They remained beside him until his final breaths.
On August 30, 2026, Dad passed away peacefully at the age of 84.
When we look back over Dad’s life, it is difficult to define him by any one part of it. There was the young man from Ottawa who went to RMC and became “Quiller Killer,” the Armoured Corps officer who served his country around the world, the father of Geoff and Tyson, the loving father in law to Coco, the proud Papa of Ryan and Mitchell, Maureen’s loving partner and best friend, the brother, cousin, uncle, neighbour and friend.
There were accomplishments, adventures and interests throughout his 84 years, but Dad’s family and the people he loved were always at the heart of his life.
He leaves behind generations of people who knew him in different ways and loved him for different reasons. His family, Maureen and her family, his friends and neighbours, his RMC classmates and military comrades all carry their own memories of Quiller, and together those memories tell the story of a life very well lived.
Dad will be laid to rest at Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa, Canada’s National Cemetery, among those who served the country he loved.
Our family welcomes Dad’s former military colleagues, RMC classmates, friends and neighbours to share their memories, photographs and stories of Quiller. Every story adds another piece to the life we are remembering here.
For those wishing to honour Dad’s memory, donations may be made to Meals on Wheels, reflecting the time he spent volunteering in his community, or to Soldier On, supporting serving members and veterans through sport and recreation.
Rest peacefully, Dad.
Your duty is done.
Your service is remembered.
And you will be deeply missed.
The Graham Family
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