Donald Royal Grant (1937-2026)
Don Grant passed away Sunday, October 11, 2026, surrounded by family at home in Great Falls, Montana.
He was born March 1, 1937, to Jerry and Betty Jane (Brown) Coulton in Doylestown, PA. In 1942, Jerry & Betty Jane separated and Jerry played no part in the lives of his 5 children moving forward. Betty Jane and the children moved to Long Branch, New Jersey where Harold D Grant, then an Army Sergeant, became part of the family (and in 1949, he adopted Don and his siblings). After a short stay in Baltimore, the Grant family landed in Albuquerque, NM. In New Mexico, due to shifting housing locations as the family waited for base housing, Don attended 7 different schools in 1 year and had to repeat 6th grade.
Don graduated from high school in Belton, Texas and joined the Air Force, completed tech school in nuclear weapons, and then was stationed at Alconbury in England. He worked in Quality Control and conducted inspections at every base with nuclear weapons in England. After 4 years in England, Don returned to the US, completed instructor training, and then taught classes in missile technology at bases on the US West Coast. When in Colorado, Don met the love of his life, Margot “Mimi” McCormick and they married in 1962 and then moved to Great Falls, MT where he worked for the Montana State National Guard on the MB-1 Genie which was carried by F-89s. In 1969, he became a federal civil service employee (Air National Guard) where he worked on and soon became the lead for the flight simulator for 17 years. His last role was in avionics. He did 2 tours in Panama.
Don retired in 1992 and turned his dimensional art hobby he picked up in the mid-1980s into a full-time endeavor. He started with resin casts and moved on to bronze sculptures - his bears, rabbits, goats, and frogs were sold at galleries and art shows. He also meticulously built his stagecoaches and wagons to reflect the originals at reduced scale and even built a stagecoach for Wells Fargo. Hiding small humorous touches was his signature. Doing the artwork became the joy of his life as he partnered with Mimi (an artist as well) at various art shows. He loved being part of the artist community in Great Falls.
Don made a point to go to Glacier National Park at least twice a year. He loved hiking, camping, and building lifelong relationships with park employees.
Survivors include his wife, Mimi, and 2 children Dana Blake (Grant) de Leon (husband Arron) & Scott McCormick Grant (wife Ann); 2 grandchildren, Nastasya (husband William) & Vicente de Leon (wife Ashlynn); and 4 siblings: Terry (Dot) Grant, Merriellen Bonem, Steven (Peggy) Grant, and Susan Grant.
