Michigan Radio had reason for silence this morning. Steven Graham, a respected employee at the radio station for more than 20 years, was publicly identified yesterday as the 49-year old Ann Arbor man found dead in the LSA Building Saturday.
- Mira Levitan
- Graham
Graham, who was an engineer at WUOM-FM, died as a result of an apparent strangulation suicide, Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Diane Brown said.
The radio station staff gathered earlier yesterday to remember Graham, said Donovan Reynolds, director of WUOM-FM Michigan Public Media. “He was a popular member of the staff and hard working,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds said Graham was devoted to his work and lived with his mother. He described Graham as introverted and shy but well liked by everyone. “In the eight years I worked with him, I don’t remember him once saying an unkind thing about anybody,” Reynolds added.
He said Graham showed no indications of distress or depression in the days before his death. Reynolds also recalled a time in 1996 when another employee of the radio station attempted suicide. “It’s inexplicable to me why these things happen, but they sometimes happen,” he said.
WUOM-FM offers psychological services to employees through a faculty-staff assistance program, Reynolds said.
Graham was discovered on the fifth floor by a DPS officer patrolling the LSA Building as part of a “welfare check” at the request of Graham’s family.
“We received a call from family members to ask us to find him and see if he was OK. It’s what we call a welfare check,” Brown added.
Until recently, WUOM was located on the fifth floor of the LSA Building. Currently the LSA Building is almost completely empty due to recent renovations.
Funeral arrangements could not be verified at the time of publication.