SHELTON – About 200 people filled the gymnasium of the Boys and Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley on Monday for a memorial service celebrating the life and legacy of David M. Grant.
Grant, who passed away Sept. 16 at age 73 in Florida, was remembered for being a humanitarian, philanthropist and friend.
Grant was a founding member of the Valley Community Foundation. He was past president of the Derby-Shelton Rotary Club, and the Boys and Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley. He owned a catering business and once served a meal to President George H. W. Bush.
“Dave was more than just a friend. He was a beacon of light in not just mine, but in so many of our lives,” said Diane Stroman, former executive vice-president of TEAM, Inc., the Valley’s community action agency. “He was a constant source of laughter and a pillar of our community. Dave had an incredible ability to make life enjoyable, no matter the circumstances.”
Stroman said Grant would check up on her when she was struggling with health issues, lifting her spirits with words of encouragement and a joke. In the dead of winter he’d send her photos of his sunny surroundings while she dealt with Connecticut’s cold.
“No matter how I felt, whenever I hung up from him I felt so much better, always walking away from the conversation thinking, ‘I don’t believe he just said that,’” Stroman said to laughter from the audience.
Stroman said she first met Grant more than 30 years ago when he was president of the Derby-Shelton Rotary Club. He convinced her to become vice-president.
“He was always giving, and he touched countless lives through his selfless acts of kindness,” Stroman added.
Former Valley United Way President/CEO Jack Walsh said Grant wore many hats. Whether jumping into action when the Latex Foam fire ravaged the massive latex plant in Ansonia in 2001 to feed firefighters or buying Christmas presents for a struggling Valley family, Grant always put others above himself.
Walsh also recalled how, when former President H.W. Bush made a campaign stop in the Valley in 1992, Grant catered the event.
“There’s probably no cause in the Valley that Dave didn’t support in some way,” Walsh said.
Ernie Luise, a past district governor for the Derby-Shelton Rotary Club, spoke of the numerous acts of kindness made on Grant’s watch, including chairing fundraisers, catering, creating scholarships, and hosting auctions.
“The Valley was his home, the people were his friend, and, no matter where Dave went, his loyalty did not end,” Luise said.
Former Boys and Girls Club director Jack Ribas joked that when Grant arrived in Heaven, he probably tried to sell St. Peter tickets to TEAM’s ‘Men Who Cook’ fundraiser.
Ribas spoke of Grant’s many acts of kindness, including including helping individual families by paying their rents when they hit tough times.
“You’ve earned your place in Heaven, Dave,” Ribas said.