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View Full Version : Heart Transplant Patient Kills Himself in Same Manner as Donor



BuffyMars
04-07-2008, 09:14 AM
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — A man who received a heart transplant 12 years ago and later married the donor's widow died the same way the donor did, authorities said: of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

No foul play was suspected in 69-year-old Sonny Graham's death at his Vidalia, Ga., home, investigators said. He was found Tuesday in a utility building in his backyard with a single shotgun wound to the throat, said Greg Harvey, a special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Graham, who was director of the Heritage golf tournament at Sea Pines from 1979 to 1983, was on the verge of congestive heart failure in 1995 when he got a call that a heart was available in Charleston.

That heart was from Terry Cottle, 33, who had shot himself, Berkeley County Coroner Glenn Rhoad said.

Grateful for his new heart, Graham began writing letters to the donor's family to thank them. In January 1997, Graham met his donor's widow, Cheryl Cottle, then 28, in Charleston.

"I felt like I had known her for years," Graham told The (Hilton Head) Island Packet for a story in 2006. "I couldn't keep my eyes off her. I just stared."

In 2001, Graham bought a home for Cottle and her four children in Vidalia. Three years later, they were married after Graham retired from his job as a plant manager for Hargray Communications in Hilton Head.

From their previous marriages, the couple had six children and six grandchildren scattered across South Carolina and Georgia.

Cheryl Graham, now 39, has worked at several hospices in Vidalia. A telephone message left Sunday at a listing for Cheryl and Sonny Graham in Vidalia was not immediately returned.

Sonny Graham's friends said he would be remembered for his willingness to help people.

"Any time someone had a problem, the first reaction was, 'Call Sonny Graham,' " said Bill Carson, Graham's friend for more than 40 years. "It didn't matter whether you had a flat tire on the side of the road or your washing machine didn't work. He didn't even have to know you to help you."

Sweetwater Red
04-07-2008, 09:24 AM
The heart is a terrible thing to waste.:(

Adidas410s
04-07-2008, 09:29 AM
That story is weird on a bunch of levels...

crzyjournalist03
04-07-2008, 09:41 AM
Originally posted by Adidas410s
That story is weird on a bunch of levels...

such as the 30-year age gap???

mustang04
04-07-2008, 09:48 AM
so.....is his heart any good to donate to another person???? that would be really weird to have a heart that circulated through 3 people...:eek:

DU_stud04
04-07-2008, 09:53 AM
30 year age gap, i bet some of his kids might be older than his wife was. shotgun wound to the neck.....hardcore.

LH Panther Mom
04-07-2008, 10:10 AM
Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
such as the 30-year age gap???
I thought it was odd, to say the least, that both men "committed suicide" :thinking: after being married to the same woman. :thinking:

charlesrixey
04-07-2008, 10:59 AM
mayeb there was some bad blood between them?

lostaussie
04-07-2008, 12:21 PM
i wonder where Buffy might be getting these crazy stories she seems to be finding. inquireing minds want to know:D

injuredinmelee
04-07-2008, 01:11 PM
She must be a treat to be married to.

Sftball4Life
04-07-2008, 01:13 PM
That story was in our local newspaper this morning also. Who shoots themself in the neck???

I want to know where this wife was in both instances.

BuffyMars
04-07-2008, 01:13 PM
Originally posted by injuredinmelee
She must be a treat to be married to.

me or the lady in the story :confused: .... :tongue:

BuffyMars
04-07-2008, 01:14 PM
Originally posted by Sftball4Life
That story was in our local newspaper this morning also. Who shoots themself in the neck???

I want to know where this wife was in both instances.

kanye west wrote a song about her.

"something, something....i ain't saying she's a golddigger.....but she ain't messin with no broke......something and some more something....."

injuredinmelee
04-07-2008, 01:20 PM
Originally posted by BuffyMars
me or the lady in the story :confused: .... :tongue:

not you at all. Wouldnt speak poorly of you ever. Especially since you keep me up to date on Hollyweird and the news of the weird.

44INAROW
04-07-2008, 01:34 PM
Originally posted by charlesrixey
mayeb there was some bad blood between them?

:eek: :D :D :D

GreenGobbla
04-07-2008, 02:37 PM
Originally posted by LH Panther Mom
I thought it was odd, to say the least, that both men "committed suicide" :thinking: after being married to the same woman. :thinking:

and having the same heart

BuffyMars
04-07-2008, 02:38 PM
Originally posted by injuredinmelee
not you at all. Wouldnt speak poorly of you ever. Especially since you keep me up to date on Hollyweird and the news of the weird.

i was j/k. ;)

kaorder1999
04-07-2008, 03:17 PM
that is weird!