~Obituary~

Deacon Ezekiel "EG" Grant Jr., 86, was the fourth of twenty children born to the late Deacon Ezekiel Grant Sr. (d. 1996) and Ardonia Jones Grant (d. 1959) on 1 June 1910, in Thomas County, Florida. He relocated to Mims, Florida, in 1921 from Monticello, Florida and became a prominent member of the Mims community.

He attended elementary school in the Masonic Hall, and then the Mims Colored school.

In 1931, Deacon Grant accepted Christ as his personal Saviour. He joined the Greater Saint James Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of the Reverend James Massey. In 1932, he was set aside and ordained as a Deacon. He regularly attended Sunday school, taught Bible School, and supported the various ministries of the church.

On 6 June 1931, Deacon Grant married the former Dorothy Mae Brothers (d. 1977) in Brevard County, Florida. Although they did not have any biological children, they reared two children as their own: Viola Williams Burgohy; and adopted son, Anthony Elijah Grant (d. 2011).

Deacon Grant married Joserena Leona Taylor Ross in July 1980, but they divorced just seven months later. He then married Gladys Jones Hinkle in March 1981, but they also divorced after almost seven years of marriage. Later, he remarried Joserena in February 1988, but they divorced again in November 1992 after four years of marriage.

He remained single, retired and enjoyed fishing. He did odd jobs in his orange grove and around the Masonic Hall before his illness and death. He had been a Mason for more than forty-seven years. He was also a member of the East Mims Civic League and the N.A.A.C.P.

Left to cherish fond memories include son, Anthony E. Grant; daughter, Viola Williams Burgohy; brothers: Andrew J. Grant (Rebecca), Jacob Grant (Sara); sisters, Sarah Grant Myers, Fay Belle Grant Warren (Crandall), Willie Grant Felton, Marion Grant Bowen, and Rosa Lee Grant Johnson; and sisters-in-law, Laurine Delancy Grant and Juanita Brown Grant Wright.