Jerry Wayne Grant

Jerry Wayne Grant, 66, of Valdosta, passed away on Thursday, February 7, 2019 at South Georgia Medical Center. Jerry was born in Waynesboro, VA on April 6, 1952 to the late Andrew and Marie Jones Grant. Jerry spent his childhood in Valdosta and graduated with the Class of 1970 at Lowndes High School, where he played bass drum with the Marching Vikings. After high school, he joined the U.S. Army, and worked in teletype communications. He married his high school sweetheart, Belinda, in 1972, and they were married for 46 happy years. Jerry helped to open the new Kmart in Valdosta in 1973. He worked as the manager for almost 10 years at Arby’s, where he met lifelong friends Pete Anderson and Kim Dean James. He worked in retail merchandising and later retired from the Lowndes County Transportation Department. He loved his time as a bus driver for the Georgia Bridgemen, and made many precious memories traveling with them. He was affectionately known as “The Snowman” and “Mr. Lumpy” by students and parents. He also drove a tour bus with C&B Tours. He loved to talk and be around people, so driving a bus was perfect for him! He was a member of Morningside Baptist Church and his church family was very important to him. Many of his dear church friends kept in touch with him even after declining health kept him from attending.
Mr. Grant is survived by his wife, Belinda Warner Grant; two daughters, Leslie Grant Barton (Ike) and Erin Grant Peterson (Kurt); five grandchildren, Emma, Madeline, and Grant Barton, and Liam and Cora Peterson, all of Valdosta; two brothers, Michael Grant (Barbara), of Anchorage, AK, and Thomas Earl Grant of GA; two sisters-in-law and a brother-in-law Shirley Davis, of Valdosta, and Kathy and Michael Lightfoot of Niceville, FL; three nieces and a nephew, April Lightfoot of Crestview, FL, Stephanie Bland (Dujunnea), of Niceville, FL, and Jennifer Davis, of Valdosta, and Brad Davis of Jacksonville, FL. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Gregory Jay Grant, his in-laws Leslie and Louise Warner, a special aunt, Emma Jones, and a dear family friend Madeleine Thacker.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, February 9, 2019 at 2 p.m. at Morningside Baptist Church with Dr. Wayne Robertson officiating. Burial will follow at McLane Riverview Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends on Friday from 6-8 p.m. at the Carson McLane Funeral Home. Flowers will be accepted or donations can be made in Jerry’s name to Morningside Baptist Church’s Reaching Families for the Future Building Fund. Condolences to the family may be expressed online at www.mclanecares.com. Carson McLane.