John Gow Grant
John Gow Grant
John was the
first-born son of David and Marion (Davis) Grant of Boone, Iowa. John lived with his parents and siblings,
Marilee and Richard, “Dick”, in Seattle, WA and Andrews, North Carolina before
moving to Boise as a sophomore. He
participated in football, basketball, track and gymnastics. He graduated from Boise High in 1944 and
attended Idaho State University and University of New Mexico for Naval Officer
Training. John served on the USS Frank
Knox until 1946 when he was discharged.
After his military service, John attended the University of Washington,
was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and graduated in 1948 with a degree in
Economics. He then returned to Boise to
work in the family business, Grant’s Car and Truck Stops retirement in 1995.
In 1948, John met Darlene Watson on a blind date and the two
were married in Boise on September 10
th
, 1949. During the next seven years four sons, John,
Brad, Steve and Stan, were added to the family.
John provided many opportunities for his sons and always stood by them.
Throughout his life, John served or presided over numerous
boards and associations both business and philanthropic; here are just a few:
Capital City Kiwanis’s, Hillcrest Country Club, Oregon Mutual, Owyhee Terrace
HA, Idaho Highway Users and the Idaho Petroleum Council.
John had many interests and passions: family, friends, golf,
traveling, bowling, flying, singing and dancing. He spent a lifetime enjoying these
delights. He was blessed with 8
grandchildren, who he adored and was privileged to watch most of them grow into
young, accomplished adults with children of their own. John and Darlene traveled the world and
celebrated regularly with very special friends, the “High School Pals”,
“Anniversary Group”, the “Wednesday Nighters”, the “Hillcrest Bowlers” and
countless others.
John lost Darlene, his dear wife of over 60 years,
unexpectedly in May 2010. He soon moved
to Willow Park Assisted Living; it was a tough transition but soon John was
twirling the staff around the dance floor and singing once again. He enjoyed attending church with his sister
and family, eating “the best pancakes ever” at Elmer’s, taking bus rides around
Boise, visits from family, dear friends and chocolates.
Our family had the privilege to share John’s 86
th
birthday twelve days before his passing and he had us laughing as he sang an
old Roi-Tan jingle. The last two and a
half years could be summarized in two words, Amazing Grace. John was able to freely express his love and
gratitude to his family, sing, and be joyful in the midst of memory impairment
and physical decline. His smile was infectious and even on the rough days he
was a gentleman.
John was loved by many and will be missed, yet, we are
thankful he is reunited with so many who have gone before: his parents, brother, Dick and sister-in-law,
Joann, nephew, Robert Gross, brother-in-laws, Alfred Gross, Roy and Lloyd
Watson, grandsons, Jared Grant and Duncan Grant, wife, Darlene and countless
friends.
John is survived by his sister, Marilee Gross of Boise;
sister-in-law, Irene Luekenga of Boise; sons, John of Denver, CO, Brad (Patti)
of Napa, CA, Steve of Boise, Stan (Tisha) of Boise; Grandchildren, Alex
(Danielle) Grant of Bridgewater, N.J., Anne (Kyle) Grant- Anderson of Seattle,
WA, Erin (Matt) Ferguson of Seattle, WA, Morgan Grant of Santa Fe, NM, Madison
and Chloe Grant of Boise; great grandchildren, Carter and Stella Grant, Aundrea
Grant, Isabel Grant-Anderson and Clara Ferguson; former daughter-in-laws,
Mineke Grant of Denver, CO and Mary Holden of Boise; nieces, nephews and
countless friends.
We would like to thank
the staff of Willow Park, especially in Kingswood, Hearts for Hospice, and
Applewood Assisted Living for their excellent care, loving-kindness and compassion. We couldn’t have done this journey without
you. The following services will be held
on September 6
th
, 2012: 11:00
am -Internment at Idaho State Veteran’s Cemetery, 1:00pm – Memorial Service at
the Cathedral of the Rockies, 2:00-6:00 Reception at the Linen Bldg 1402 W.
Grove St., Boise. Arrangements are under the direction of Alden-Waggoner
Funeral Chapel, Boise.
Memorial Contributions can be made to the Alzheimer’s
Association or to a charity of choice.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of John Gow Grant, please visit our flower store.
Guestbook
Visits: 1
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
