A man who received a heart transplant in 1996 and later married the donor's widow died the same way the donor did, authorities said: from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
No foul play was suspected in the death of 69-year-old Sonny Graham at his home in Vidalia, Georgia, investigators said. He was found in a farm building in his backyard with a single gunshot wound to the neck, said Greg Harvey, a special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Graham, who was director of the Sea Pines Heritage Golf Tournament from 1979 to 1983, was on the verge of congestive heart failure in 1995 when he received a call that a heart was available in Charleston.That heart belonged to Terry Cottle, 33, who killed himself, said Berkeley County Coroner Glenn Rhoad.
Grateful for his new heart, Graham began writing letters to thank the donor's family. In January 1997, Graham met his donor's widow, Cheryl Cottle, then 28, in Charleston.
"I felt like I'd known her for years," Graham told The (Hilton Head) Island Packet for a story in 2006. "I couldn't take my eyes off her.I just stared."
In 2001, Graham bought a house for Cottle and their four children in Vidalia. They were married three years later after Graham retired from his job as operations manager for Hargray Communications at Hilton Head.
From them From previous marriages the couple had six children and six grandchildren spread across South Carolina and Georgia
Cheryl Graham has worked in various hospices in Vidalia.A phone message left on a list for Cheryl and Sonny Graham in Vidalia was not immediately answered.
Sonny Graham's friends said he was remembered for his willingness to help people.
"Whenever anyone had a problem, the first reaction was, 'Call Sonny Graham,'" said Bill Carson, Graham's friend of more than 40 years. "It didn't matter if you had a flat tire on the side of the road or your washing machine didn't work. I didn't even need to know you to help."
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