Friend, husband, father, loyal, kind, courageous, strong, persistent, successful, giving.
All words that were used to describe Kent Granger at his memorial service in the OU Chapel last week.
The former OU student, longtime Ottawan, lawyer, businessman and life trustee was honored by family and friends after he passed away at his home in Florida.
The memorial service was organized to honor Granger and tell stories of his life.
Among the speakers were his daughters Carmel and Sarah who told stories about their dad.
“It’s an honor for me to be the daughter of such a great person,” Carmel Granger said.
Other speakers included both lifelong friends and friends he met in his journey of life.
Robert Loyd knew Granger since they met in kindergarten at Lincoln school in Ottawa. At the memorial, Loyd reminisced on their 70 year friendship.
“Kent had a part about him that you weren’t just a friend, you were a best friend,” Loyd said.
When Granger was 16 he was diagnosed with polio and spent 14 months in the hospital.
At the memorial service, Granger’s junior high school friend John Martin told the story from July 3, 1953.
He recalled that he and Granger played a one-on-one basketball game in Forest Park in the afternoon, then later in the evening he heard that Granger was on the way to the hospital.
Martin said Granger had high spirits and didn’t give in to polio.
“What I learned from Kent was to persevere and never give up,” Martin said.
The non curable disease affected the use of his arms and he later suffered from post polio syndrome which caused other difficulties.
“He lost his voice physically but he didn’t really lose his voice,” Ottawa University President Kevin Eichner said.
The memorial service focused on stories and Granger’s personality that touched those that spoke.