Johnny & LaFrance Graham

Graham's Barber College & Shops

Mr. Graham was born and reared in small villages in Florida. He entered the US Army in 1941 and was discharged as a First Sergeant in 1945. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Graham moved to Texas.

LaFrance Moody Graham was born in Allen, Texas to the parentage of Mr. and Mrs. Milford Moody, and grew up in Plano where she attended school. Mrs. Graham went to beauty school in 1949, where she met and married Mr. Graham. Into this union, two children were born.

Mrs. Graham opened her first beauty shop in Kaufman, Texas. When she and her husband moved to Dallas, they opened shops in South Dallas, Highland Hills and Hamilton Park. They soon purchased a small strip shopping center to house the famous Graham's Barber College, which was the community's talk of the small businesses. With eight barbershops and more than 140 employees, the business was selected to receive the Texas Small Business of the Year. Texas Governor Preston Smith presented the award in 1969.

Today, Mr. & Mrs. Graham are no longer with us, but the business and the legacy left by him are both alive and well. All who know them say that the success and longevity of that small business are due, in no small measure, to the hard work, leadership and courage of their founders, Johnny and LaFrance Graham.