Robert Dana Grant

Our father passed away swiftly and peacefully Wednesday, December 30 at Windham Hospital. Robert Dana Grant, 73, was born on June 13, 1947 in Cincinnati OH to the late Dorlene and Robert Grant. Robbie as he was known to his family and friends served as a United States Marine from Sept of 1966 to June of 1970 as an Infantry Soldier. He did a tour in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968 where he fought by his brothers against the Tet Offensive in Khe Sanh in Vietnam, one of the worst battles and biggest military campaigns in the Vietnam War.

Our father received the Combat Action Ribbon, The Presidential Unit Citation, originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, which was awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy. He also received the Vietnam Service Medal. Upon returning home he met my Mother Jacqueline Rose Saba who had had also served for a short time in the Marine Corps. They were married in August of 1969 in North Bend, Ohio. They moved to Charleston, South Carolina where they were stationed and had their first son Christopher. After moving to CT in 1973 Robert and Jackie had their second son Todd. They moved several times back and forth between CT and IN before deciding to make Willimantic their home over the last 4 decades. At the time of my Father's passing, he was married to Jackie for over 51 years.

Our dad spent most of his life as an oil service technician in which he ended his career with local and long-term company Ives Brothers in Willimantic.

He would spend his later years grabbing a coffee with the guys chatting about politics and other world happenings. He was proud of and loved spending time with his seven grandchildren, Brenda, Jarrod, Landon, Charlotte, Kendall, Jameson and Rylan. To them he was simply known as grandpa. Our father was an amazing airplane model maker growing up and took great pride in all the details that hobby required. He could fix just about anything and always made sure the job was done right. He was also a big fan of Nascar and loved watching and talking about the standings with his son Todd.

He flew the American flag in the front yard each day and would make sure old glory was lit up each night.  Our dad was a simple yet a well like man. He surely kept our local police department up to date as an unofficial neighborhood watch. He was always quick to lend a hand and will be missed beyond words.

What he taught us was to be courageous in the face of fear and the true meaning of living out his vow with his wife. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health till death do us part.

He was a good father, grandfather, husband, cousin and friend who always did the best with what he had. Our home will be much quieter without him here, however the echoes will last through our lifetime. We will miss him greatly. He is survived by his wife Jackie, his sons Christopher and Todd, daughter in law Marissa Grant, sister in law Beverlee Cook, brother in law and sister in law Robert and Bonnie Saba, brother in law and sister in law George and Connie Saba , brother in law and sister in law Alfred and Sandy Saba as well as many many cousins around the country.

On behalf of all of our family we would like to express our extreme gratitude to all the first responders of the Willimantic Fire and Police Department as well as all the staff at Windham Community Memorial Hospital for working so hard to help our father. Robert’s family will have his funeral service at a later time.

If any is interested in making a donation in honor of our father, it can be made to:

Greater Windham Veterans Council C/O Bill Woodbury 872 Main St Willimantic CT 06226. To sign an online guestbook visit www.potterfuneralhome.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Robert Dana Grant, please visit our floral store.