| Bio | WILLIAM MICHAEL MICK MCGRAW William Michael (Mick) McGraw, 69, died Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, of an aggressive cancer, surrounded by family at NorthCare Hospice in North Kansas City, MO. He was a celebrated investigative journalist, garnering the top prizes in his field, including the Pulitzer. Mick was born April 26, 1948, in Kansas City, MO, the son of Bill and Ruth D. McGraw, and grew up in Independence, MO. He attended Bristol grade school and graduated from Van Horn High School in 1966. He received bachelor and master's degrees from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He joined The Kansas City Star reporting staff in January 1973 after beginning his career at the Springfield (MO) News-Leader. He also worked as a business and labor writer for The Des Moines Register and labor editor for The Hartford Courant. After retiring from The Star in 2014, he joined KCPT and its Hale Center for Journalism to lead its investigative team. There, he wrote about preserving a trove of Star reporter mafia files, now ensconced at the Kansas City Public Library, and a firsthand account of the Vietnam draft tied to the PBS Ken Burns series on the Vietnam War. Mick taught investigative reporting at the University of Missouri, University of Kansas and as a Ferris Professor in Residence in 2013 at Princeton University. His investigations included the convictions in the fatal 1988 south Kansas City explosion, leading to a Department of Justice review; human trafficking and modern slavery, about which he spoke on a panel at the UN and with his team earned the 2010 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, and fatal mistakes by the USDA in its meat-grading processes, for which he and a colleague won the Pulitzer in 1992. Mick was a generous colleague to all and worked with journalists coast to coast. But he always credited his wife, Ruth, as his first editor, the one who kept him humble and focused on doing work that mattered. Mick was a consummate professional, happiest sorting through a pile of documents to look for the incongruity or the kernel of injustice. But, once out of his starched shirt and tie, he would head to the cabin he and Ruth built at the "Pits" in Hume, MO. There he would pilot his pontoon boat, ferry others to fishing holes, and teach his grandsons to run the boat. When a distant train whistle blew, he would hop in the truck, a grandson on his lap, and race to catch the sight. He had a humorous take on everything, making the mundane into an entertainment. He was welcomed into a family of serious pitch players, but he seldom beat them at it, and didn't mind a bit. He liked to make things, helping his young firstborn, Andy, create a Halloween costume involving a fancy dinner table worn over the shoulders. Once the serving dome was removed from the main course, Andy's head was revealed. Andy went on to achieve a doctorate in ethnomusicology, with an expertise in world music, a source of immense pride for his father. His younger son, John, was his personal hero. Mick was married to Ruth Wilkes McGraw on Dec. 26, 1969. They had been high school sweethearts, but before that, Mick was pals with her brothers, and sought out her mother as a confidant to a high school boy. She remained his close friend. He kept his childhood friends close, regularly seeing old classmates. Mick leaves Ruth, his wife of 48 years; two sons, Andrew and his wife Jess (Richmond, VA); John and his wife Anna (Smithville, MO); two brothers, Dan (Independence, MO) and Tim and his wife, Alice (Berkeley CA), and four dearly beloved grandsons, Brennan, Gavin, Noel and Johnny. Mick also leaves countless grateful cousins, friends and colleagues. The family thanks the staff of North Kansas City Hospital, NorthCare Hospice House and Kansas City Cancer Center North. As he did throughout his life, Mick made friends with all who cared for him. Mick's family, friends and colleagues are invited to gather from 2-4 pm Sunday, Jan. 14, at The Kansas City Star Press Pavilion, 1601 McGee St., Kansas City MO 64108. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Salvation Army or Kansas City Hospice. Mick will be cremated with ashes scattered at his beloved lake in Hume. Arr.: Cremation Society of KS and MO, 5561 NW Barry Road, (816) 822-9888. Condolences: www.kccremation.com
Published by Kansas City Star on Jan. 9, 2018. |
