Aloha `Oe e Pipe Major John Grant
Donation protected
A larger than life man left this earth on Monday, May 15th, 2017 in the early morning hours in his sleep.
John Grant, Pipe Major (and creator) of a few pipe and drum bands in California and here on Maui, was a huge presence who didnt mince words and always stood up for the rights of people, animals and the earth. A retired Marine Biologist from the California Department of Fish and Game, he was also one of the first people to work in the Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response, something he was quite proud of.
He moved to Maui in the 90ʻs after retiring, to take up windsurfing and quickly began to make friends and get involved in land, environmental and cultural issues. He also got back into teaching bagpipes (for FREE!) to anyone who had the tenacity to stick to it and the openness to adhere to his style of teaching. He was a hard teacher but a thorough and excellent one. Many of his students became members in the bagpipe band he started together with friends Hamish Burgess, John Impey and Mike Riedel. Later, others joined to from a larger drum corps and fill out the pipe section. That band began as the "Maui Celtic Pipes and Drums", then later changed its name to "The Isle of Maui Pipe Band", which it is still known by today.
As recently as 3 years ago, John found out he had Stage 4 prostate cancer that had spread to his spine. He decided to live out his life as best he could without radical treatments that could have left him feeling and doing worse. He also tried to discuss frankly and openly about his cancer and the alternative treatments he was taking and doing and always encouraged his male friends to get their PSA checked.
He squeezed every bit of life out of it that he could and told me often that he had always had great luck and he felt that these last years were his luckiest (even with cancer) as he was able to grow so much more in his love for life, people, Maui and Hawai`i as a whole.
His passing has left a giant void that will be hard to fill; a mark, difficult to erase. When he died, he didnʻt have a funeral plan or insurance to cover cremation and funeral expenses which now fall solely on me to pay.
I reach out to you, our community, to kōkua any amount that you are able, so that I may complete this process and give him the send off he wanted and absolutely deserves. If you know him, called him friend or were included as part of his `ohana, you understand how much this means to me.
Anything helps and will be used to pay for cremation and other associated costs and I mahalo you from the bottom of my heart.
John Grant, Pipe Major (and creator) of a few pipe and drum bands in California and here on Maui, was a huge presence who didnt mince words and always stood up for the rights of people, animals and the earth. A retired Marine Biologist from the California Department of Fish and Game, he was also one of the first people to work in the Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response, something he was quite proud of.
He moved to Maui in the 90ʻs after retiring, to take up windsurfing and quickly began to make friends and get involved in land, environmental and cultural issues. He also got back into teaching bagpipes (for FREE!) to anyone who had the tenacity to stick to it and the openness to adhere to his style of teaching. He was a hard teacher but a thorough and excellent one. Many of his students became members in the bagpipe band he started together with friends Hamish Burgess, John Impey and Mike Riedel. Later, others joined to from a larger drum corps and fill out the pipe section. That band began as the "Maui Celtic Pipes and Drums", then later changed its name to "The Isle of Maui Pipe Band", which it is still known by today.
As recently as 3 years ago, John found out he had Stage 4 prostate cancer that had spread to his spine. He decided to live out his life as best he could without radical treatments that could have left him feeling and doing worse. He also tried to discuss frankly and openly about his cancer and the alternative treatments he was taking and doing and always encouraged his male friends to get their PSA checked.
He squeezed every bit of life out of it that he could and told me often that he had always had great luck and he felt that these last years were his luckiest (even with cancer) as he was able to grow so much more in his love for life, people, Maui and Hawai`i as a whole.
His passing has left a giant void that will be hard to fill; a mark, difficult to erase. When he died, he didnʻt have a funeral plan or insurance to cover cremation and funeral expenses which now fall solely on me to pay.
I reach out to you, our community, to kōkua any amount that you are able, so that I may complete this process and give him the send off he wanted and absolutely deserves. If you know him, called him friend or were included as part of his `ohana, you understand how much this means to me.
Anything helps and will be used to pay for cremation and other associated costs and I mahalo you from the bottom of my heart.
Organizer
Trinette Furtado
Organizer
Kailua, HI