Graham was born in Manhattan in New York City, New York, USA, on 28 June 1904. She grew up very close to the outskirts of Central Park, on 8th Avenue and Broadway. Her parents were Henry and Theresa. Her father was self-employed and owned two Hansom cabs. Her father passed away when she was 8 years old. After his death, they moved to Secaucus, New Jersey, where they purchased two lots and used the insurance money to build a house. Her mother worked from home as a seamstress, specializing in sewing together police uniforms. After completing 8th grade, she attended business school because of her aptitude for numbers, which helped her secure accounting positions. One of these jobs was at Ferguson Bros. Manufacturing.

One day, her cousin introduced her to George Graham. On their first date in 1925, they attended a Yankees game. Yankee games soon became her regular Sunday afternoon entertainment. They got married and had a son, Richard G. Graham (1928–2006). She lived in Secaucus for 75 years, where they owned a general store. The store kept the entire family busy from 7 am until 9 pm each day, making and delivering salads, roast beef, roast pork, and chicken. Her husband passed away in 1936 when her son was only 8 years old. Her son later served as Fire Chief of the Secaucus Fire Department, and many of her grandchildren also worked as firefighters for the same department. As of her 110th birthday, she had four grandchildren and an unspecified number of greatgrandchildren.

Graham passed away in Seminole, Florida, USA, on 6 October 2015, at the age of 111 years, 100 days.