MOUNT DESERT, HALL QUARRY and COLUMBUS, Ohio – James W. Grant, 78, died Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007, surrounded by his wife and family at his winter residence in Columbus, Ohio. Jim was a loving husband, father, grandfather and enthusiastic friend whose generosity and openness will never be forgotten. Jim graduated from Gilman High School, Northeast Harbor, in 1947 and attended Illinois College, Jacksonville, Ill., where he graduated in 1951. He served in the U.S. Army from 1951 until his honorable discharge in 1953. Jim taught in the Rockland city schools from 1954 to 1956 and was chairman of the famous Rockland Lobster Festival in 1955. In Ohio, Jim worked for Paul Revere Life from 1956 to 1985, where he became regional sales manager. From 1959 to 1988, Jim and his family resided in Upper Arlington, Ohio, where he served on the Board of Boulevard Presbyterian Church and was a past president of the Northwest Optimist Club and founded the Northwest Optimist basketball league in 1968. Jim loved nothing more than coming back home to Maine. He lived in the village of Hall Quarry and attended Somesville Union Meeting House. He is survived by his loving wife of 54 years, Carolyn Howard Grant; children, James Grant and wife, Heather, Mitchell Grant and wife, Lori, Jill Grant and Pam Grant; grandchildren, Hayley, Gabriella and Jamie; sisters, Jane Jackson and Ruth Buchanan; uncle, Ted Closson. A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, at Jordan-Fernald, 1139 Main St., Mount Desert. Private interment will be at Brookside Cemetery, Mount Desert. Those who desire may make contributions in Jim’s memory to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, 383 Main Ave., Fifth Floor, Norwalk, CT 06851. Condolences may be expressed online at www.jordanfernald.com
JAMES W. GRANT
