Obituary Donna Leigh Grant

OBITUARY

Donna Leigh Grant

February 27, 1926 – April 16, 2020

Donna Leigh Browne Grant

Donna Grant, age 94, of Gainesville, Georgia, went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, April 16, 2020. Mrs. Grant was born on February 27, 1926, in Long Beach, California, to the late Hart and Arlene Browne. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her sister, Jean Arlene Browne Lee, and her loving husband of 51 years, Robert “Bob” Dale Grant.

Mr. and Mrs. Grant were married in Glendora, California, on March 8, 1947, and began their family in Covina, California. Her husband was transferred to Roswell, Georgia, in 1966, where Mrs. Grant taught preschool at First Baptist Church, Roswell. After his retirement, Mr. and Mrs. Grant moved to Gainesville, Georgia in 1983.

Mrs. Grant was a member of First Baptist Church, Gainesville, where she continued her calling to teach. After 51 years, she officially retired and was honored and recognized by the community as Master Teacher. Throughout her years at First Baptist Preschool, hundreds of children were blessed by her love and passion for teaching. She never forgot her students and remembered them long after they passed through her care. She was a loving and dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunt. She loved her family and was always sharing her photos with everyone. She devoted her life to her family.

Mrs. Grant leaves behind her son and daughter-in-law, Gary and Gwen Grant, of Canton, Georgia; Son, Larry Grant of Knightdale, North Carolina; Daughter and son-in-law Mary and Bradley Dunagan, of Gainesville, Georgia; Grandchildren, Shannon (James) Doppelheuer of Snellville, Georgia; Lori (Andrew) Martin of Charlotte, North Carolina; Robert (Mandy) Grant of Canton, Georgia; Ryan (Katie) Grant of Johns Creek, Georgia; Leah (Britt) Hulsey of Murrayville, Georgia; Lindsey (Steven) McDowell of Rome, Georgia; Tyler (Amanda) Dunagan of Jacksonville, Florida; Brian Grant of Bloomington, Indiana; Austin Grant of Trenton, Tennessee. Her most cherished blessings and legacy were her 19 great-grandchildren. Mrs. Grant’s niece, Cheryl (Bruce) Stewart of Riverside, California, was loved as a second daughter.

The family would like to thank Gardens of Gainesville Assisted Living in Gainesville, Georgia, Woodland Ridge Assisted Living in Smyrna, Georgia, and Tapestry Hospice for their love and care they showed to Mrs. Grant and her family.

A Celebration of Life Service will be planned at First Baptist Church Gainesville, Georgia, at a later date when all her family and friends can gather together. A private graveside service will follow in Roswell, Georgia, where she will be laid to rest beside her beloved husband. (Roswell Funeral Home).

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts and donations may be made to First Baptist Church Day School, 751 Green Street, Gainesville, Georgia, 30501.

She Was There For Everything by Leah Dunagan Hulsey

I have spent most of the day going through pictures, I think it was my way of soaking in every last moment of Grandma. The pictures affirmed what I already knew...she was there for everything! From science fair trophies in 5th grade, to graduations, to weddings, to birth of our babies, even getting to celebrate with my youngest turning 10, and everything in between. She was right by my side and I will cherish those many memories forever. She loved her family big and impacted my life and many more, more than she will ever know! Although we are heartbroken she is no longer physically with us, we know she is in a better place and her reunion last night with Grandpa and our Lord was a beautiful moment for sure! Pray for my mama and our family, for not being able to be together during this time is the hardest part.

Grandma's Stories by Lindsey Dunagan McDowell

My last grandparent is gone. There's a shift now. I'm officially in the middle. I am mother and I am daughter, but no longer granddaughter.

Grandma had told me stories of growing up in California and how her mom, Arlene Browne, would take her and her little sister to a horse track to watch the horses race. One race, her mom bet on a horse named Sweet Arlene and she won first place.

She told me about meeting a handsome football player at the school diner. Then Pearl Harbor was bombed. She told me about how her father would have to walk the streets to make sure the town was following the new curfew rules and how everything would be dark once the sun set. Lights that filled Monterey Bay...now completely dark. That horse track near her home no longer hosted races, it became a Japanese Concentration camp. When school started back, her Japanese American class mates were gone with no explanations. And that handsome football player now wore a uniform and would be gone for years.

As life continued during the war, she became a young woman and was even engaged twice, calling off both engagements. She laughed and admitted to me that the second engagement was more about her enjoyment of having a diamond ring on her finger. She told me about the evening when a current boyfriend was bringing her home after a date. He walked her inside and just sitting on the kitchen counter, with a grin on his face, was that handsome soldier. She said she remembers screaming and forgetting every thing else, including that poor fellow who was clearly no longer a boyfriend. She said they stayed in that kitchen and talked for hours. That soldier's sister had known these two would marry and had kept a ring while he was away at war. After years of jumping out of planes into enemy territory, storming foreign shores and fighting in the trenches, he did indeed return. They married a year later and she walked down the aisle in a dress made with part of his parachute.

They would live with her parents, while he built their first home.
It wasn't long before she was pregnant. While largely pregnant, she had decided she didn't like the color of her new kitchen and was set on doing something about it herself. While climbing a step stool to paint, her water broke.
A surprise awaited them at the hospital. She delivered not one son, but two. There was some shock and fainting and then some rallying of friends and family to gather two of everything. Her twin sons were brought home to a two-colored kitchen. Eleven years later, a surprise daughter. And her family was complete.

A move across the country and a new life in Georgia.
Here's where my own story intertwines with hers. Her presence is woven into every single part of my life.

Every holiday or special occasion, she was there. But also everything in between. When we would spend the night at her house, she would wake us up singing, "rise and shine and give God the glory, glory..." She would let me mix all the different types of cereal she had and eat them out of a mixing bowl for breakfast. We got to eat macaroni and cheese for lunch on TV trays while watching Nickelodeon. Afternoons spent at her neighborhood pool where she would pack Mondo squirt drinks that were gone in 2 sips but felt like such a luxury. And when she would take us to see a movie in the theater, in a big straw purse she would sneak baggies of Grandpa's homemade popcorn because it was way better then what you could buy there. There were countless days spent on Grandpa's pontoon boat, wrapped up in her arms to stay warm on the ride back to their dock. She baked me oatmeal raisin cookies before every camp or trip I went on and wrote me letters while I was gone. And it wasn't officially my birthday until she called and sang to me.

I saw her and my grandfather love each other well. Service, grace and laughter filled their marriage and their home. I watched her become a widow too soon, but carry on with strength and continue to hold family first. My entire life was witness to her teaching and serving and putting others first.
I got to see her fall in love with the man I married and celebrate our wedding. She got to meet and hold all of my daughters, which I am eternally grateful for.

My knowledge of her, is of being my Grandma Grant. But the glimpses of stories and pictures into her life before that title, have always intrigued me. I know, as with all of humanity, her life was filled with valleys and dark nights and struggles and pain and heartbreak. I know she didn't like to focus on those things. I know she wasn't perfect but I know she knew how to love people. I know that there is no way for me to grasp all of the life she lived in her 94 years. But I will forever hold dear the knowledge that 53 days before her last breath earth side, she was surrounded by her children and grandchildren and great grandchildren while we celebrated her birthday. I got to watch her while she sat holding her daughter's daughter's daughter and prayed that I will one day have a chance to know what that feels like.

A life well lived indeed.

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Donna Leigh Browne Grant 1926 -2020

My mother, Donna Grant, age 94, went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, April 16, 2020. She was born on February 27, 1926, in Long Beach, California, to Hart and Arlene Browne. She had one sister, Jean Arlene Browne Lee.
She fell in love with the love of her life, Robert (Bob) Dale Grant, a young, handsome American soldier returning from World War II. Her wedding dress was made from Bob's silk parachute and they married in Glendora, California, on March 8, 1947. They built their first home in Covina, California, where soon they started a family. Bob and Donna Grant were married for 51 years. Bob died on September 14, 1998.

While living in Covina they had three children, Gary Leigh Grant b. 2 April 1948, Larry Robert Grant b. 2 April 1948, and Mary Arlene Grant(me) b. 12 January 1959. My dad worked with Bekins Moving and Storage Company and in 1966 was transferred to Atlanta, Ga, to open up a Bekins office. At the time of the move I was only 7 and my brothers were much older and both begin their freshman year of college at the University of Georgia, in Athens, GA. Dad bought a house in Roswell, GA, a suburb, north of Atlanta. While I was in school my mother started teaching at the First Baptist Church of Roswell Preschool.

Gary Leigh Grant m. Gwen Ann Brittain 12 June 1970. 
Chidren: Lori Ann Grant b 17 Jan 1975.
Robert (Robby) Allan Grant b. 4 July 1976.
Ryan Leigh Grant b. 14 Dec 1978.

Larry Robert Grant m. Sonya West  25 Jan 1969, m. Patte Hart
Chidren: Shannon Lynn Grant b. 14 Aug 1969(Sonya)
Brian Grant b. , Austin Grant b. 21 Apr 1992(Patte)

Mary Arlene Grant m. William Bradley Dunagan 10 June 1978.
Chidren: Leah Maeve Dunagan b. 13 Aug 1981.
Lindsey Marie Dunagan b. 31 Aug 1983.
Tyler Grant Dunagan b. 19 Mar 1986.


My dad retired from Bekins in 1984, after 30 plus years with the company. Mom and Dad sold their place in Roswell, the home I grew up in, and moved to Gainesville to be near my family. They lived with Brad and me before they bought a little cottage in a gated lake community called "Quiet Place in the Woods" where dad could keep his beloved pontoon boat.

It wasn't long before Donna was teaching school again. This time at the First Baptist Church of Gainesville. She continued teaching even after dad died, and well into her 80s. She was an amazing teacher and was recognized as "Master Teacher" when she retired after teaching for 51 years.

Throughout her 51 years of teaching, hundreds of children were blessed by her love and passion for teaching. She never forgot her students and remembered them long after they passed through her care. She was a loving and dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunt. She loved her family and was always sharing her photos with everyone. She devoted her life to her family.

Bob and Donna Grant have left a beautiful legacy to pass on to their children, 9 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren.