Garnett S. Grant, Sr.

Garnett S. Grant, Sr. age 82, of Gatesville, died on December 31, 2018. Funeral services will be held at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, January 5, 2019 at Scott’s Funeral Home Chapel in Gatesville, Texas, with private burial at Gatesville Masonic Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.  Friends and family are gathering after the service at the home of Beverly Lovejoy Boyd in Gatesville, Texas. Garnett Shelton Grant was born on January 9, 1936 in Tarrant County to the late Ed Alford and Nell Diamond Grant.  Garnett’s descendants came to Texas in 1853, settling first in Bowie County and then moving to Fort Worth on New Year’s Day in 1866.  Living in White Settlement, Garnett’s great-grandfather, George Washington Grant, Sr. was part of the small group of volunteer guardsmen that finally cleared the western section of Tarrant County of hostile Indians.  The road leading to General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin), where the family farm was located, bears his name – Grant’s Lane.  Garnett grew up in Justin, Texas and graduated in 1954 from Northwest High School. When he was to enroll in college, Garnett returned home to tell his parents he had joined the U.S. Army. He was stationed in France, and in 1957 was honorably discharged when his father fell ill. He returned home to help with the family dairy and ranch business.  While home on leave for his best friend’s wedding, Garnett had met Nancy Page, who was singing at the wedding. For the rest of his life, he told the story of how he had fallen in love with the sparkle in Nancy’s eyes that night, and how he knew he wanted her to be the mother of his children. Garnett and Nancy were married in Ponder, Texas on July 20, 1957, and they began building their family and their life together as young working college students.  Garnett earned a B.S. Degree in Business Administration from Texas Wesleyan College in 1962 and continued with post-graduate studies at North Texas University and Mary Hardin Baylor. He taught high school and coached six-man football at Westminster High School for a year, and in September of 1964, he and Nancy excitedly moved their young family to Gatesville for Garnett to teach government, American history and occupations at Gatesville High School. In 1966, he began teaching at the Gatesville State School for Boys. While still teaching at the State School, Garnett and Nancy embarked on a new adventure – they bought a little hamburger place they called the Snak Shak in 1967. There were carhops and a jukebox – and Garnett soon expanded the menu to include pizza, and began showing silent movies to the throngs of young people who regularly congregated on the small back lot. Quickly outgrowing that location, they bought a big lot close the high school for a new modern restaurant. In July of 1968, they held the grand opening for what became the hang out for several generations. Later, the new Snak Shak was renamed Grant’s – and the drive down Main Street between Grant’s and the Courthouse became the most popular route for those who spent time “riding around” town in Gatesville.  Throughout the 70’s and early 80’s, Garnett continued to expand their restaurant business holdings. They bought The Root Beer Stand in Gatesville. He opened a restaurant in Denton, and bought the Milk Bucket in McGregor. He opened the Juarez Junction in Copperas Cove in 1975, and started one of the early private clubs in Gatesville when he bought the historic Round Up Café to open a second Juarez Junction location in August of 1979. In 1980, he opened Cherokee Station in Temple, and later bought the old Bavarian Inn building, which housed the Coryell County Museum.  Ever restless for new opportunities, Garnett had also begun to acquire and develop other residential and commercial real estate in and around Gatesville. He owned rent houses and developed a series of small subdivisions, and after buying a large parcel with a new home for his family in what was then “the country” in 1972, he went on to develop Cedar Ridge Estates Subdivision in three planned phases. In 1976, he developed Lakewood Greens Subdivision, when he and partners bought and subdivided the defunct Cottonwood Golf Camp facilities and the 9-hole golf course, adding other residential lots around the golf course. He built many other operating businesses along the way, including Grant’s Ultra Storage and a commercial strip center development, and had other residential real estate ventures, many of them launched well past retirement age.  Garnett was happiest when he had a project that had captured his imagination. He was a true entrepreneur, and had a singular drive toward accomplishing his goals. He started his first business at age fourteen – hauling hay, using his under-age brother to drive, and generating enough money to buy his own truck by the end of the first summer. He always enjoyed making money more than spending it, unless he was spending it on real estate or to build a new business. His latest successful project was Greenbriar Ranch Estates Subdivision, an acreage tract development he launched in 2014.  He loved politics, and history, and historic markers. He could drive you anywhere on back roads in Texas to show you something interesting, or beautiful, or geographically strange. He loved to travel and see new things, and he and Nancy got to visit Scotland and Machu Picchu and countless other places in the states and abroad, traveling with two of his brothers and their wives. He adored his grandchildren, and was fiercely committed to his family and to his community. He was always happy to allow the use of a piece of property or building for some public purpose, particularly if it was for something that benefited young people – like hosting the high school homecoming bonfire or the traveling circus that had come to town. He delighted and aggravated those who loved him, as he was always certain his way was the right way.  Garnett was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy Grant in 2006 and son, Michael Grant in 2007; brothers, Ed Grant, George Grant; and sister, Nellie Grant. Garnett is survived by his son, Shelton Grant and girlfriend Mai Gaston of Gatesville; his daughter, Kathy Grant and husband, James Henson of Austin; brothers, Don Grant and wife, Dolly of Whitney, Mike Grant and wife, Janice of Grapevine; sisters-in-law, Dorthie Hicks of Corpus Christi, Pat Simmons of Denton, Becky Powell and husband Pat Powell; brother-in-law Wayne Simmons and wife CJ; grandchildren, Chris Grant and wife, Aja of Red Oak, Mike Grant of Gatesville, Jana Ramsey Grant of Denver, CO, Kate Grant of Austin; and great-grandchildren, Aria and Lyric. Since 2011, Garnett enjoyed a very special relationship with Beverly Lovejoy Boyd, and she brought much happiness and fun into his life.  Memorials may be made to the Nancy Page Grant Scholarship Fund, c/o Gatesville I.S.D, or to the Boys & Girls Club of Gatesville, 2533 E. Main Street, Gatesville, TX 76528.