Grant B. Richards

Grant B Richards 1947-2009 Grant was born to Kenneth and Evelyn Richards the youngest of three children, at Garden City, Long Island, N.Y. During his teen years, his mother and siblings moved to Paducah, Ky., where he stayed until his college years. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1968. He served honorably, earning the bronze Star for meritorious service and the Army Commendation Medal, until 1969. After his discharge, Grant continued his education, finished a B.S. in Physics at University of Missouri at St Louis and starting in the master's degree program at the University of Illinois, Champaign, Urbana. In 1978 he moved to Chicago, where he met his future wife, Carol Kersey. Not liking the big city, he returned to his mother's home in Malden, Missouri, working with his step father in water treatment until 1983. He then moved to Boise where Carol had returned. They married in 1984, celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary in January of this year. During this time he worked for the Department of Transportation and Zilog. In 1994 he decided along with Carol, to do his own thing in residential rental and cattle. Their home was always open to family members who needed a place to live. Grant was extremely influential in several of their nephew's lives, giving them guidance and unconditional love. Grant was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2003, and fought it valiantly. He always exhorted his friends to get their cancer screenings. Dr. Paul Montgomery, of MSTI, Boise was Grants Oncologist. With the help of the entire staff, Grant was given six years of life he might not have had otherwise. After several surgeries, chemo-therapy treatments and radiation, he succumbed to this disease on August 7, 2009. Grant's last days were spent at home with the help of his wife, his niece Adrienne Weyers, and Horizon Hospice of Meridian. Grant was preceded in death by his brother, sister, father and step father. He is survived by his wife, mother, two nieces and three nephews. Grants wish was that anybody so inclined would contribute to the Disabled American Veterans in lieu of sending flowers (805 W Franklin St, Room 205, Boise, Idaho, 83702). A graveside service with military rites by the U.S. Army will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at Meridian Cemetery under the direction of the Nampa Funeral Home, Yraguen Chapel. There will be a pot luck gathering at Storey Park after the funeral for friends and family.