The first date I ever had in my life was with Grant Hammond. We went on a Civitan club hayride. As luck would have it, I lost a contact lens in that hay and offered up an expletive when I realized what had happened. Grant howled when he heard that word come out of my mouth. He said he had no idea I would ever say something like that. I was quite embarassed about that. When Foster Yates and I married, it was at Grant's home on Mt. Vernon. Libba opened up her heart and home and we had one of the sweetest weddings ever there. There was much laughter, a few tears and quite a bit of drinking involved. Grant, Randy Gray, Marc Williams, and Foster Yates were such a part of my high school years. Remeber the time we got pulled over by the State Trooper on the way back from South Pittsburgh? You and Sandra Ament were in one car and Foster and I were in another. My parents didn't know I had gone there and we were trying to get me home on time. They got both of us! You and Foster went to defensive driving school to avoid paying the tickets. Of course, Foster didn't tell Doc and Lillian. But as luck would have it, Foster was the 1,000th (or some special number) participant in this program and was on TV. Naturally Doc and Lillian were watching the news when this aired!! I can just hear Lillian say, well there's Buddy! Busted! But didn't you guys ususally get caught sooner or later?? You hardly ever saw Foster without Grant. Oh the stories I could share but I better stop. What a sad day when I learned of Grant's passing. Grant, you so loved your mother I believe you were the only one of your brothers that didn't live with your Dad after they divorced. Nope, wouldn't leave Libba. Those bulldogs in that house were something else!!! Libba and her purple. So many thoughts and memories. Wish you could be here with us at these reunions. We are having a ball but it is bittersweet because you are not here to enjoy them with us. Thanks for being my friend............
Grant and Charlie (my hubby) became friends when Charlie had just graduated from UTC and was working at his first "real" job at Piccadilly Cafeteria as a manager trainee. Grant came thru the delivery door working for a food service provider and when he saw Charlie he said "son of a bitch...Charlie Giffen". Charlie talked Grant into quitting his position and joining the staff at Piccadilly only to hear Charlie say upon his first day at work "I'm getting outta here". We met his bride to be, Suzanne, and spent many weekends and vacations together at the beach and at their home in Mobile, AL...witnessed the birth of their first two children. If Grant couldn't make you laugh, you didn't have a heart. I'll never forget going to a restaurant in Sarasota where the waiters and waitresses told jokes for extra tips and by the end of the night, the entire restaurant clientele and staff were at OUR table listening to Grant. Suzanne was expecting their third child, their first son, when he was fatally shot. We'll never forget Grant, his zest for life and ability to make friends whereever he went. He'd love to be at our reunion regaling everyone with stories of our younger days.
Cindy Fuller (Thomas) (1972)
The first date I ever had in my life was with Grant Hammond. We went on a Civitan club hayride. As luck would have it, I lost a contact lens in that hay and offered up an expletive when I realized what had happened. Grant howled when he heard that word come out of my mouth. He said he had no idea I would ever say something like that. I was quite embarassed about that. When Foster Yates and I married, it was at Grant's home on Mt. Vernon. Libba opened up her heart and home and we had one of the sweetest weddings ever there. There was much laughter, a few tears and quite a bit of drinking involved. Grant, Randy Gray, Marc Williams, and Foster Yates were such a part of my high school years. Remeber the time we got pulled over by the State Trooper on the way back from South Pittsburgh? You and Sandra Ament were in one car and Foster and I were in another. My parents didn't know I had gone there and we were trying to get me home on time. They got both of us! You and Foster went to defensive driving school to avoid paying the tickets. Of course, Foster didn't tell Doc and Lillian. But as luck would have it, Foster was the 1,000th (or some special number) participant in this program and was on TV. Naturally Doc and Lillian were watching the news when this aired!! I can just hear Lillian say, well there's Buddy! Busted! But didn't you guys ususally get caught sooner or later?? You hardly ever saw Foster without Grant. Oh the stories I could share but I better stop. What a sad day when I learned of Grant's passing. Grant, you so loved your mother I believe you were the only one of your brothers that didn't live with your Dad after they divorced. Nope, wouldn't leave Libba. Those bulldogs in that house were something else!!! Libba and her purple. So many thoughts and memories. Wish you could be here with us at these reunions. We are having a ball but it is bittersweet because you are not here to enjoy them with us. Thanks for being my friend............Debbie Goff (Giffen) (1969)
Grant and Charlie (my hubby) became friends when Charlie had just graduated from UTC and was working at his first "real" job at Piccadilly Cafeteria as a manager trainee. Grant came thru the delivery door working for a food service provider and when he saw Charlie he said "son of a bitch...Charlie Giffen". Charlie talked Grant into quitting his position and joining the staff at Piccadilly only to hear Charlie say upon his first day at work "I'm getting outta here". We met his bride to be, Suzanne, and spent many weekends and vacations together at the beach and at their home in Mobile, AL...witnessed the birth of their first two children. If Grant couldn't make you laugh, you didn't have a heart. I'll never forget going to a restaurant in Sarasota where the waiters and waitresses told jokes for extra tips and by the end of the night, the entire restaurant clientele and staff were at OUR table listening to Grant. Suzanne was expecting their third child, their first son, when he was fatally shot. We'll never forget Grant, his zest for life and ability to make friends whereever he went. He'd love to be at our reunion regaling everyone with stories of our younger days.