In Memoriam Maurice B. “Marcy” Graham
Gray Ritter Graham is saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend and partner, Maurice B. Graham. Marcy passed away peacefully on September 9, 2025. He was a leader of our firm for many years. When he joined in 2000, Gray & Ritter became Gray Ritter & Graham.
Far more than a great lawyer and vital member of GRG, Marcy was a respected, admired and beloved member of the Missouri legal community. Mentorship of young lawyers, with an emphasis on the importance of professionalism, is something Marcy frequently talked about. He started the GRG Annual Symposium in 2006 dedicated to promoting and upholding the highest ethics and ideals in the legal profession. The Missouri Supreme Court renamed its annual service and professionalism award after Marcy.
Marcy represented hundreds of clients over a 62-year career as an attorney, starting out in Fredericktown, Missouri before making his home in St. Louis. He continued to keep in touch with many of those clients throughout his life. Marcy often said: “Clients don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” There was never a doubt how much Marcy cared about his clients.
Marcy and his wife of 59 years, Edna Mae, met when she was a new 4th grade teacher in Fredericktown, having just moved from Arkansas. They had one son, Lee. Marcy started out as a rural lawyer with a diverse practice including corporate, plaintiff and defense work. Over time his practice evolved into litigation as he was soon representing clients in state and federal courts in Missouri and throughout the country. Marcy was honored with admission to the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.
Marcy worked an extraordinary number of hours each week, not only to do his absolute best for his clients and his law firm, but because he loved the profession and the practice of law. An outstanding advocate himself, he took special joy in helping other lawyers succeed. No matter how busy he was, Marcy always made time to help a young lawyer seeking career advice, or a law student seeking guidance for his or her future in the law. To say that Marcy was one of a kind barely begins to describe how unique and special he was.
Marcy also lived life outside the office to the fullest. He loved the arts and was physically active throughout his life. For his son Lee's 18th birthday, they commemorated the occasion by skydiving. Marcy and Edna Mae were fitness enthusiasts and loved to travel. They traversed the entire Katy Trail across Missouri on bicycle six times and hiked, biked and travelled throughout the United States, Europe and Canada.
Near the top of all his interests and passions was certainly the University of Missouri. He served for many years on the Board of Curators. We are certain Marcy took special joy in the fact that the last game played by the Tigers before he passed was the Tigers’ thrilling victory over the KU Jayhawks.
Gray Ritter Graham is deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from clients, friends, lawyers and judges who have shared their own personal stories about the many ways Marcy touched their lives. While we’ll mourn for a little while, we give thanks for this wonderful, generous, amazing man with whom we had the honor of working. Rest in peace, dear friend.
