Lawrence McDonnell, assistant professor in the history department, had already mapped out Matthew Graham’s life in his head.

Graham, one of McDonnell’s students in the graduate department, had a “brilliant” master’s thesis planned, and they had been discussing plans for a Ph.D. However, McDonnell didn’t envision Graham’s story would end the way it did.

Graham died in a multi-car crash on Nov. 3 on Highway 17 in Boone County.

“We have a history that we map out in our own heads. We create the history that we expect,” said McDonnell. “That’s what is so hard about his loss. We imagined one history, and we get a different one. I feel resentful. Someone else will have to step up and write that history.”

According to the Iowa State Patrol crash report, Graham, 37, of Webster City, and Katrena Gillis, 32, of Stratford, were southbound on T Avenue. Graham was at a stop sign, about to turn left onto 190th St., when Gillis’ vehicle struck the back of Graham’s car, pushing it into the northbound lane where it was hit by another car driven by Martin Frederickson, 70, of West Des Moines.

Sgt. Scott Bright of the Iowa State Patrol said Graham’s wheels were turned to the left, which caused his vehicle to go into the northbound lane when struck from behind.

“There’s a 99 percent chance his vehicle would have gone straight instead of into the oncoming lane if his wheels weren’t turned,” Bright said.

The crash was reported at 8:52 a.m. Graham was pronounced dead at the scene, and Gillis and Frederickson were taken to the Boone County Hospital. Bright said he believes no other passengers were in the vehicles.

Bright said the crash is still under investigation, and they are trying to figure out what Gillis was doing behind the wheel to cause her not to notice Graham’s vehicle. The speed limit on T Avenue is 55 mph, though Bright did not know how fast Gillis was driving. Gillis will face charges, Bright said.

Graham had been an undergraduate student in the history department at Iowa State and had begun working on his master’s program in the fall. Graham also worked as a teaching assistant for History 202.

Pamela Riney-Kehrberg, professor and chair of the history department, said the department is shocked and very sad to hear of Graham’s death.

“I think everybody is very sorry that someone who was so excited about history and so excited about graduate school is not going to get the opportunity to do what he so much loved,” said Riney-Kehrberg.

Although Graham was 37 years old, McDonnell said he would’ve thought he was 23, judging by how Graham interacted with his peers.

“He fit right in,” McDonnell said. “There were times when I wasn’t sure if he had started shaving yet.”

He described Graham as a modern day Jimmy Stewart with a down-to-earth personality and great common sense.

“This is a job that when they say you care about your students, Matt made it really easy,” McDonnell said.

Graham had been working for Electrolux in Webster City when it closed down in March of 2011. McDonnell said Graham was an Iowa State student by the fall.

“He didn’t know that writing on the history of his workplace and his experience was something that was possible,” he said. “I gave him some reading, and it was like the world was opened to him.”

McDonnell and his wife, associate professor Kathleen Hilliard, who also works in the history department, were close to Graham, even taking him and one other undergrad to the Southern Historical Association Conference in St. Louis. McDonnell said all of his colleagues thought Graham was a young professor.

“He had the time of his life, and it was one of my favorite moments of my professional life,” McDonnell said.

McDonnell said he hasn’t seen five people like Graham in his entire career.

“From the beginning, we said Matt was going to do great work and have a tremendous career and make us all look like geniuses,” McDonnell said. “I’ve taught for 30 years, and he would’ve had one of the greatest professional careers. He would’ve been a leader in labor history.”

McDonnell and Hilliard plan to fund a reward in Graham’s honor for an incoming graduate student who wants to write on the history of working people.

“This is hitting me pretty hard,” he said. “He was an inspiration to so many other people. So many people thought if Matt can do it, then they can, too.”

Graham’s autopsy was scheduled for Nov. 4 and the funeral date is pending.