Earl H. Graham, former president of water utility

Earl Harold Graham, 92, a decorated World War II veteran and former president of the Philadelphia Suburban Water Co., died Wednesday, Nov. 12, of heart disease at his home in Pompano Beach, Fla.

Mr. Graham was a longtime resident of Springfield, Delaware County, before retiring to Florida.

Born in Philadelphia, he graduated from Northeast High School. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Army to fight in World War II.

He was assigned to the 83d Infantry Division, 308th Combat Engineer Battalion. He served in Europe during five campaigns starting with the D-Day invasion, and was awarded the Bronze Star and the French Legion of Honor Medal.

In a citation accompanying his Bronze Star, the Army described his bravery on Jan. 11, 1945, under enemy fire. Sgt. Graham and his squad were assigned to build a timber footbridge across a river in Belgium. They built the bridge and carved steps into the opposite river bank in record time.

When one of his men was wounded, Sgt. Graham supervised his treatment and evacuation without stopping work or losing any lives.

In December 2013, Mr. Graham was inducted into the French Legion of Honor. "Without your bravery and that of those who fought alongside you, France and Europe might never have been liberated from the barbarity of Nazi occupation," the French consulate wrote to Mr. Graham in July 2014.

After the war, Mr. Graham was hired by Philadelphia Suburban Water Co., now Aqua America, and worked on the maintenance crews as a junior engineer. At night he attended Drexel University, where he earned his degree in structural engineering and, later, a degree in environmental engineering.

He rose through the ranks of the company in Bryn Mawr and in 1974 became president and chief operating officer. Later, he was named executive officer and sub-chairman of the board.

He was married to Evalyn R. Graham for 62 years. She died in 2008.

He is survived by a daughter, Carol G. Dyer; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

A visitation after 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 21, will be followed by an 11:30 a.m. funeral service at Princeton Presbyterian Church, 933 Baltimore Pike, Springfield. Interment is in Arlington Cemetery, Drexel Hill.

Donations may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research via www.michaeljfox.org/.

610-313-8102