Obituary of Richard Grant

Richard "Dick" Seymour Grant August 18, 1939 - November 17, 2014 Richard Grant, loving husband of 53 years to Phyllis, knight in shining armor to his daughter Deanna (Bock) and hero to his sons Greg, Stewart(deceased 1994)and Stephen He grew up on a farm in East Gore, Nova Scotia, the son of Frank and Esther Grant, brother of Glennis, Avery and Gladys. He went to school in a one room school house, which he walked to, up hill, both ways, apparently! At nineteen he went to work in a local branch of the Royal Bank, and liked it so much, he stayed for 38 years. But as they say, you can take the boy from the farm, but you can't take the farm from the boy; especially getting up early. He never, in his life seemed to require the assistance of an alarm clock to get up, except, strangely, on Christmas mornings. He grew up a farm boy and retired an executive VP, but was always a gentleman. He excelled at opening doors, tipping his hat, saying hello, volunteering and making just about everyone seem important. He had the self-assuredness and humility born of a man who had an unshakeable faith, believed in himself and understood that actions and not words defined a man. Poppy, as he was known to his grandkids Ben, Abi, Laura, Lauren and Joshua, had silver in his hair (what little he had left - he used to tell his grandkids the birds had taken most of it to build their nests) but pure gold in his heart. He loved the country, the lake, travelling, reading, and watching golf (not that it made him any good at it) and just about anything on the discovery channel. If the antelopes were running across the Serengeti, he wanted to watch it. If they were chasing golf balls, even better. And he also had a life long love affair with peanut butter sandwiches, made on his own brown bread he would make on the weekends, wearing an apron. It might just have been the greatest bread ever made. It was made with love and care and meticulous attention to detail. He believed in measuring twice and cutting once, whether it was bread, wood or the front lawn. Because he was never much for showy things and being the centre of attention his family will hold a Celebration of Life visitation from 1 - 2pm Sunday November 23, 2014 followed by a Chapel service and reception at Ettinger Funeral Home 2812 Highway 2 Shubenacadie, NS, M. Dale Crawford officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a memorial donation to the Leprosy Mission or Leukemia & Lymphoma Society . Richard had a wide circle of friends and relatives who held a special place in his heart. The family would also like to thank the staff at Cedarstone Enhanced Care for their kindness and support and tremendous care. Condolences, words of comfort and memories of Richard may be shared with the family at www.ettingerfuneralhome.com , where live webcasting of the chapel service will begin at 1:55pm AST (12:55pm Ontario time). (Click on the webcasting button) Finally, the family asks that, in honor of Richard, you do one simple act of kindness today.