Harry Grant Remembrance
Harry Grant, a long time staff member at Calumet, passed away on April 2nd, 2022 at age 75. Harry, a proud native Mainer, who lived in the Portland area for many years, came to Camp Calumet Lutheran by way of Trinity Lutheran Church in Westbrook, Maine. Harry, his then-wife Bev Grant, and their daughters Amy and Jenny were welcomed into the Calumet family in the early 1980s, when Harry served as Maintenance Director for several years. Later, with his dear friend and tennis rival, long-time Calumet Camp Director Don (D-Guy) Johnson, Harry developed the Family Camping program, transforming the campground into a vibrant and engaging outdoor community of faith for families.
Harry contributed to Calumet in innumerable ways during his nearly 20 summers there. For many years, he lit up the sky for Calumet’s annual 4th of July fireworks display. As Maintenance Director, one of his joys was the Calumet dump run. He also constructed and hung the wooden swings along Calumet’s lakeside, where countless campers and staff have sat to take in the beauty of God’s creation and ponder their faith and life path. Harry loved captaining Calumet’s pontoon boat around Ossipee Lake—with the help of many eager junior skippers. Many also remember him serving up burgers and hotdogs with a smile at the FC Beach Barbecue. Harry delighted in sharing corny puns and celebrating the Red Sox’s victories. He had a deep love for his Calumet family. Receiving the Calumet Staff Show dedication from his fellow staff members was one of his proudest honors.
Harry graduated from the University of Southern Maine and was trained as a mason. Throughout his life, Harry put his skills to work laying the foundations that helped to build up the communities and people around him. He taught his craft at PRVTC, a technical school in Portland Maine. After receiving his Masters Degree in Educational Leadership, he helped transform and rename PRVTC to Portland Arts and Technology High School [PATHS] to reflect the arts programs that had been added to the school’s offerings. During his time at PATHS, Harry also served as leader of a sister city program between schools in Portland, Maine and Shinagawa, Japan. Through that program, as he had done throughout his life, he created connection and community with families in Japan.
Following retirement, Harry and his wife Susan divided their time between Southington, Connecticut, and Port Saint Lucie, Florida. They enjoyed visiting with friends and playing competitive Bocce. They also traveled to Japan, Europe, and the Caribbean. Harry cherished time with his grandchildren—taking them fishing, watching New England sports teams, and going to their many games and concerts. In the past few years, Harry was able to return to Calumet to see his grandchildren thriving in the community he loved.
One of Harry’s most remarkable strengths was his resilience. Despite an early life filled with tragedy and struggles, Harry worked hard to constantly better himself and those around him. He attributed his resilience to his high school mentor, Alan Palais. As a teacher and tennis instructor at Portland High School, Palais provided support and resources for Harry to join the Portland High tennis team, where he achieved great success in state and regional tennis matches. This resilience in the face of adversity was vital to Harry’s ability to serve as a mentor to the countless youths he encountered, and to later face his battle with Parkinson’s with courage and dignity.
Harry is survived by his 2nd wife, Susan Ventresca (Southington, CT); daughters Amy Grant (Concord, NH; CIT ’91, camp staff ’92-’96) and Jennifer (Jenny) Grant (Westbrook, ME; CIT ’93, counselor ’94-95), son-in-law Charles (Chuck) Eastwood (CIT ’91, counselor 1992-1995); step-children Michael Ventresca (Heather) and Marcy Ventresca (Cynthia) and grandchildren Elliott Pollard (camper, Trainee ’21, counselor), Cole Pollard (camper), Samantha Grant (future camper), Zion Grant (future camper), Carl Eastwood (camper, Trainee ’22), Matthias Eastwood (camper), & Victoria Ventresca. He is also survived by his first wife Beverly Elliott Grant (Westbrook, ME) and the Elliott family, (Millinocket, ME and beyond) the Mooers family of Portland, ME (who welcomed him into their family in his high school years), and the Suzuki family, of Tokyo Japan, especially his Japanese “daughter” Natsumi Suzuki.
Contributions to Calumet in memory of Harry Grant will be gratefully accepted. Memories and photos of Harry from the CCL community can be shared on Facebook on his daughters’ pages “Amy Beth” and “Jenny Kate”.