Austin Ronthwaite Grant M.D.

Austin Ronthwaite Grant, M.D., age 87, passed away peacefully on the - morning of March 24, 2004, surrounded by his large and loving family. Dr. Grant was born in Brooklyn, NY, on April 12, 1916, the only child of Austin B. Grant and T. Jane Moore Grant. He was a very proud graduate of Dartmouth College and McGill University Medical School. During World War II, he served as a major in the Army Medical Corps, 100th Evacuation Hospital, European Theater. By then he had married the love of his life, his wife of 61 years, Helen Maureen Linehan Grant. When he returned from overseas, he completed his residency in general surgery at the VA Hospital in White River Junction, VT. He went on to Muskogee, OK, in the position of assistant chief of surgery at the VA Hospital there. In 1951, he moved to Phoenix to take the position of chief of surgery at the VA Hospital here. He completed a fellowship at Columbia University to become a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon in 1956, and returned to Phoenix to begin a 40- year practice in his chosen specialty. Dr. Grant was a pioneer in open-heart surgery in Arizona during the 1950s; he served as chief of staff at St. Luke's Hospital from 1963 to 1965, and as chief of surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital. He was a member of the Gold Headed Cane, the Ossler Club, the Phoenix Country Club, and St. Francis Xavier Catholic Parish. He was a tireless, dedicated healer, but even more important to him was his role as husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by his wife, Helen; his sons, Dr. Richard Grant and his wife, Sherrie, David Grant and his wife, Lisa, Gerald Grant and his wife Kim; his daughters, Sally Cohen, Mary Avina and her husband Albert, Margaret Grant and her husband Gregory Lecklitner, and Christine Grant. Dr. Grant was a grandfather to 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He was a mentor and good friend to his long-time medical partner, Dr. Neil Steinhoff. The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses who cared for him in the final days of his life. A rosary will be held at Brophy Chapel, 4701 N. Central Ave., Phx, on Friday, March 26, 2004 at 7 p.m. (Visitation at 6 p.m.) A funeral mass will be held at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 4715 N. Central Ave., Phx, on Saturday, March 27, 2004 at 10 a.m., followed by a private burial. Arrangements by Whitney Murphy Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation P.O. Box 515, Northampton, MA 01061, or St. Vincent de Paul, P.O. Box 13600, Phx, AZ 85002.