It seems appropriate to have a final Sunday Caring Bridge posting about our dear Joe Grant. 

This week Joe Grant’s family and friends celebrated his life – and what a celebration it was!  Friends from all parts of the country, all walks of life, and all periods of Joe’s life gathered at Christ the King Church (and multiple establishments such as the B Bar!).

When the family met to plan his celebration, the funeral director offered the possibility of a limousine.  After discussion by those gathered, dear Mary joked, “If Joe was here, he’d probably prefer Ollie the Trolley.”  What started as an offhand comment became a reality – a wonderful symbol of Joe’s spirit.  It would have been gratifying to hear the comments of those stopped by a funeral procession led by Ollie the Trolley.  An unanticipated benefit of the ride was that Joe’s grandsons Finnegan and Ollie have a first impression that funerals are fun.

The celebration of JOE is best shared by quotes from aspects of services to honor him and celebrate the transition to his new life...

 Eulogy (son Tom Grant)*

“There’s no shortage of memories our dad leaves with us. There is sadness, of course, but also so much joy as we celebrate his life and the zest he had for it. He leaves us the perfect example of how to treat each other, how to work together, how to overcome, and how to show courage in the face of adversity.  Here’s to you, Dad, we love you.”

 Eulogy (friend Patrick Barrett)*

“There is one undeniable fact, and that is that Joe had the unique ability to make everybody feel like they were his best friend. Almost everyone in this church feels that way…. What Joe taught us through his example was how to be a friend. And he taught us some very important lessons from life.  And I think one of the most important was how to be selfless in friendship, that true friends lavish attention on each other, and they make our lives fuller and richer. And emulating his example would certainly make this a better place. William Butler Yeats said, ‘Think where man's glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends.’ As you were!”

 Father John Pietramale

As we meet tonight, we reflect on the wedding feast at Cana, where Jesus, his blessed mother and apostles were invited to a wedding ceremony. We celebrate two (Joe and Mary) who lived as a beautiful couple and stood by each other in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health…. 

Father Thomas Fangman

What we know is that today is about a man who had many gifts.  Boy did he use those gifts!  Joe Grant touched lives… and lived fully… and had a lot of fun while doing it.  I am pretty certain that every one of us can only be left with a smile when we recall what we have shared, and how we have been blessed, and what we shall remember taught by Joe’s life.

Song: A Beautiful Game (Ed Sheeran)

Though we've not reached the end, we should take some time apart
Leave here with no regrets, knowing we gave our all.
Oh, I cannot pretend that this won't break our hearts
But we will meet again…

Out of the embers, we'll rise from the ashes
Write in the stars with our names
That we are here, we are bruised, we are damaged
But the joy was worth the pain
Whoa, love's a beautiful game

Song: Fall on Me (Christina Aguilera)

Sooner or later it all comes apart
The walls are all shattered, I'm back at the start
And I'm willing to follow this, wherever it goes
The heart has its reasons that nobody knows

And I wanna believe in a world we can't see
Millions of particles passing through me
And I know there's a meaning, I feel it, I swear
I can't see the future, but I know that it's there

Fall on me, with open arms, fall on me, from where you are
Fall on me, with all your light, with all your light, with all your light, with all your light

Dan Grant concluded Joe’s funeral service with a quote from one of Joe’s favorite shows, Ted Lasso: “‘Now look.  This is a sad moment right here…for all of us.  There ain’t nothing I can say standing in front of you right now that can take that away.  But, please, do me this favor now.  Put your heads up and look around this room.  Look at everybody else in here.  Now I want you to be grateful that you’re going through this sad moment with all these other folks. Because I promise you, there is something worse out there than being sad, and that is being alone and being sad.  Ain’t nobody in this room alone.’”

We know we’re not alone.  We are together in our celebration of Joe Grant!  Sincere thanks to you, friends and family, for your consistent support of Joe’s family through this journey.  We are so, so sad that he has passed, but we know for certain that he lives on in a new life, and his spirit here on earth is not gone.  Memories of Joe will continue to bring smiles to each of us!

NOTE: Entire eulogies and services available at website https://heafeyheafey.com/live-cast/  [Search for joe grant]