Ave Marie Grant

Eulogy for Ave Marie Powell Grant (Born February 13, 1940 - Passed September 27, 2025) Ave was born on February 13, 1940, in Parris Island, South Carolina - a time when the world was changing quickly, World War II, the Holocaust, atomic bombs, and the beginning of the Cold War. Ave was a woman of undeniable strength. She understood the value of hard work, the importance of family, and the power of faith and compassion. Ave was married at the age of 17 to Thomas Earl Grant on October 3, 1957, in Bradenton, Florida. It was Ave's love for family combined with her belief that our Heavenly Father intended that families exist forever shared with her by her hair stylist, that drew her to the gospel of Jesus Christ when the missionaries first approached her. Ave was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1965). Her example and testimony led her husband Tom to follow her into the waters of baptism. Ave and Tom were both sealed together as a couple and to their (4) children the youngest being 10 months old, after a very long drive from Florida in a panel station wagon with no air through the desert camping all the way on July 1, 1967, in the St George Utah Temple. Ave served in many different callings in the church from Primary, Young Women's President and Ward and Stake Relief Society Presidencies, she was also the Stake YW Girls Camp Director for many years. In addition to her important role as a wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Additionally, when Tom was called to be a Patriarch in the church, Ave served as his scribe for almost 20 years. Tom and Ave raised their family in Bradenton, Florida. After their children having served missions and were all married in the temple and started their families, Tom and Ave moved to Coral Springs, Florida in the early 80's due to Tom's employment. Tom and Ave retired to St Augustine, Florida in 2014 to enjoy living closer to their grandchildren. The following year, Tom and Ave celebrated Ave's 75th birthday with a cruise to the Bahamas. Following Tom's extensive health issue, they moved into assisted living where their health continued to deteriorate. Ave was placed in a dementia facility in 2019, where she remained until her passing. Ave is survived by her 4 children, Thomas Earl Grant Jr, Jeri Lynn Hoskins, John Micheal Grant and Tari JoAnn Taylor, and their 20 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. We know as members of the church, we all lived with our Heavenly parents before our mortal journey, and that this life is a time to be tested and prepare to return to Their presence. Her love for the Savior and desire to follow and learn of Him is an example for all of us to follow. Now we know she is reunited with her husband Tom, our father, while we remain behind to prepare for the return of the Savior to once more be reunited as a family in our own time. We are all blessed by her example and sacrifices she made in this life, for which we will always love her and be forever grateful. May we always remember the lasting impression she left upon all of us in mortality. May she now rest in peace. Mom, you will be dearly missed, but never forgotten, until we meet again.

Ave Marie Grant

February 13, 1940 - September 27, 2025