Ma Graham

Ma Graham, named as Sarah in the movies, is married to Ben Graham. She is a kind, motherly figure to Marty. She also lost her first husband, but she and Ben married having a total of eleven children among them. When Marty first moves into Clark's house, she can't make hardly anything but pancakes and coffee, but Ma comes to the rescue, giving her all of her own personal recipes. She also tells Marty what happened to Ellen, Clark's first wife.

Spouse(s): Thornton Perkins (deceased); Ben Graham

Children (books): Laura, Sally Anne, Thomas, Nellie, Ben, Lem, Claude, Faith, Clint, Lou, Baby, 2 more

Grandchildren (books): Elizabeth Anne and others

Children (movies): Laura, Sally Anne, and 2 sons

Ma Graham and her husband, Ben, have 13 (11 living, two deceased) children in the novel. Ma's first husband, Thornton Perkins, died leaving her with a small store and three small children: Sally Anne, Nellie, and Ben. She then met Ben Graham, a widower with four children: Laura, Thomas, and twins, Lem and Claude. They got married and had six more children, including Faith, Clint, Lou, and a child they lost in infancy. Little Ben died at age 7.