Kristin McKeever-Graham security-firm owner, dies at 61

KRISTIN McKeever-Graham was not most people's image of a private eye.

But she was just that for most of her career, catching hotel thieves and construction-site pilferers, tracking down lost children and providing security for business firms.

She once joined a cult in which two children of a client were being held, videotaped strange ceremonies and eventually returned the kids to their father.

And then there were those million-plus dollar payments she had to carry from banks to merchant ships on the river in the days before electronic payments made such trips unnecessary.

Kristin McKeever-Graham, who went from private-eye adventures to found her own security company in Philadelphia, died of complications of lung cancer Nov. 10. She lived in Blue Bell, Montgomery County. She was 61.

Kristin was born to Robert McKeever and Elois Longacre. Her father was a Navy captain in World War II and commanded a destroyer.

She was raised in Wyndmoor and Blue Bell and graduated from Sea Pines High School, in East Brewster, Mass., in 1967.

Shortly afterward, she joined Ring Detective Agency, founded by her father. He was also vice president of the Keystone Shipping Co. One of Ring's major assignments was delivering the cash to the cargo ships, requiring couriers to handle large sums of money.

After 12 years, she decided to start her own company and founded All Secure Inc., a security guard and investigative service in Conshohocken.

"I realized early on that we had to specialize in some way to set us apart," she once wrote. "We have provided security/concierge personnel decked out in tuxedos."

Her son, Robert W. Graham, recalls the time his mother left a pocketbook with bills protruding in plain view in the Four Seasons Hotel in Center City to catch a thief.

Kristin was a former vice president of the Business Owners Management Association in Philadelphia and was on the board of the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Kristin was also involved in a number of charities, including sending clothing to Haiti.

"She was a wonderful woman," her son said. "Everyone who knew her loved her. She was my heart and soul."

Besides her son, she also is survived by her mother; a brother, Kevin M. McKeever; a sister, Kathy Rosse; one grandchild; and her partner, Jack "JJ" McLaughlin.

Services: Memorial service 11 a.m. Friday at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, 3025 Church Road, Lafayette Hill. Friends may call at 10 a.m.