Michael M Grant

Michael M. Grant, age 72, passed away peacefully on April 6, 2025. It is with the deepest sorrow that his family shares this news with you.

Michael was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1952 to parents Edith Woolsey Grant, and Murray Grant. Michael also has a brother, John Grant, who currently lives in New Mexico.

The Grant family moved from Atlanta to New York when Michael was 6 months old. He grew up in Glen Cove, NY, graduated from Glen Cove High School, and went on to become a theater major at Hofstra University.

Michael was quiet and avoided the spotlight. He was thoughtful, intelligent, creative, artistic, gentle and kind, and had a quirky sense of humor. He was also a poet writing over 200 poems. He wrote about his own experiences, and the people and things he observed around him.

Michael was a perfectionist. He always gave 110% of himself to every project he undertook, and he took on every project with a sense of fun and optimism.

Before beginning his theater career, Michael was a Teacher's Aide for BOCES of Nassau County, working with children who had learning challenges. He also spent several years being a very active volunteer for the March of Dimes.

After graduating from Hofstra, Michael worked at several different theaters from New York to California doing everything from stage managing to building sets.

Then, in 1982 he was hired by the Joseph Papp Public Theatre/New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City. This was a big deal!

He began his time at "The Public" as a carpenter, was promoted to Master Carpenter, and eventually was appointed Technical Director. Michael's role as TD was to take the vision that the set designer had in his mind and turn it into reality on the stage. Michael was the TD for the 5 theaters "downtown" at the Public, and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

"The Delacorte Theater is an 1,800-seat open-air theater located in Central Park, in New York City. It is home to the Public Theater's free Shakespeare in the Park productions. Over five million people have attended more than 150 free productions of Shakespeare and other classical works and musicals at the Delacorte Theater since its opening in 1962."

While working at the Public Theatre, Michael worked with many well-known actors, directors and designers. It was an exciting time, and an exciting place to work.

In 2001, Michael closed that chapter of his life, and took a position at Friends Academy, a private Quaker school on Long Island. Friends had a very professional theater department, and a theater that could rival many Broadway theaters. Michael was the technical director, but now he had the opportunity to share his knowledge, skills, and experience with students who loved theater. His students adored him. He taught them every aspect of working in the theater: lighting, sound, carpentry, and stage management. As a result, many of his students were accepted at colleges known for their theater departments, including his daughter, Meli, who studied theater at NYU-Tisch, in New York City.

While at Friends, Michael designed incredibly beautiful and complex scenery. For the play "Metamorphosis", he made a 4-feet deep pool that the student actors could actually go into. For the plays, "Peter Pan", and "Mary Poppins", Michael brought in a company from New York. They taught the students how to fly! And they flew...above the stage, across the stage, and all around the stage. What an extraordinary experience these students had because of Michael.

In 2017, Michael was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He had a Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant in 2018. He was away from home from September to December. The doner cells began doing their job, and Michael's AML went into remission. Even so, each week he had multiple appointments with doctors in various fields to monitor his health. It was exhausting but he did what he had to without complaint. Michael could never sit home doing nothing, so when he was able, he went back to work, part-time.

Michael was one of only 30% of Bone Marrow transplant patients, who lived 5 years post-transplant. He was still in remission when he passed. Unfortunately, one of the side effects that can occur after a stem cell transplant are pulmonary issues which Michael developed. He suffered greatly during the last year of his life, and was in and out of the hospital.

The hardest part was that he could not breath normally for almost a year. Michael remained hopeful and positive for as long as he could, but eventually his beautiful spirit was ready to leave his broken body. From the day that Michael was first diagnosed with AML, he handled his illness with grace and dignity.

Michael and his wife of 26 years, Valerie Sheehan, divorced in 2010. After their child left for college, they realized they had different life goals that were impossible to negotiate. However, when Michael became ill, Valerie reentered his life, and they rediscovered the closeness they once felt for each other. She left her home in Massachusetts and cared for him for most of the last year of his life. They once again were life partners.

The greatest love of Michael's life was born on January 7, 1986, when his daughter, Meli, entered the world. Michael was completely devoted to Meli. He was a loving and patient father. He took part in every aspect of her care. He taught her to be an honest, moral, and ethical person. Michael wasn't afraid of dying. The hardest and most painful part of facing death was leaving Meli. They were so close. She will miss him, and his presence in her life profoundly.



Michael leaves behind, his daughter, Meli, his former wife, Valerie, and his brother John. He was predeceased by his mother, Edith, and his father, Murray.

Michael, you have touched so many lives, and those lives are all the better for knowing you.

It's time for you to rest peacefully now in the knowledge that you lived a good life and were loved by many.

We will all miss you every day. The world will be a little dimmer without you in it.

If anyone would like to honor Michael, you may donate in his name to The Human Rights Campaign, or to Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital