It is with deep sadness we announce the passing of Bruce Nelson “Boompa” Grant; a devoted husband, father, and friend; a caring grandfather and great-grandfather. On June 26, 2020, after a visit from his family, Bruce joined his beloved wife and partner of 50 years, Margaret Caroline “Pidgie” Grant (nee Pidgeon), in peace.
He is survived by his children Sandra, Brad (Lora), and Ian (Winanne); his grandchildren Tracy (Tim), Michael (Christina), Teri (Angeli), Mark (Vanessa), Mitchell, and Turner; and his great-grandchildren Aedan, Aliya, Victoria, and Samantha. Bruce was 92.
He will be sorely missed by all those who remember his keen mind, dry wit, easy laughter, and open heart. He treated his friends like the family to which he was so committed. The bonds he forged and cherished in his adopted home of Honey Harbour run deep.
Born February 19, 1928 in Ontario, Bruce came young to the cottaging community he would join and shape for years to come. It was there, at the Delawana Inn, that he met Pidgie. Their early years of marriage were spent out West with Bruce working as a salesman for Goodyear Tires as they started a family together in Edmonton.
But “Beautiful Bruce” never forgot his roots. He returned to the friends he had left back East and missed so much. Bruce became his own boss as a successful Shell station owner-operator, a long career filled with friends who enriched his life, and whose he enriched in turn.
He finally got the chance to make a home in Honey Harbour—buying an old white cottage on Deer Island that was to become the bedrock of his family, and of the families that were to come. Nothing meant more to Bruce than to share with his friends a good joke or the glow of a Georgian Bay sunset.
Victory in the Men’s Euchre Tournament in Waubaushene at the tender age of 10 engendered a lifelong love of cards. He shared countless hands of after-dinner cards with friends and family, bringing everyone together to laugh and play, and toss their coins, loudly rattling, into a tin cup.
At the cottage, from his blue rocking chair in the corner, Boompa could warm the room as surely as the wood stove he kept blazing. No empty coffee or bean tin proved safe from Bruce’s meticulously catalogued collection of nails, nuts, and bolts; lest any project on the island need a couple hundred at short notice.
Always one to be counted on for a tale around the dinner table, Boompa reveled in song and story. He kept his radio loud and seldom seemed happier than during a rousing chorus of In Mobile, unless it was, with twinkly eye and gravelly voice, he’d recite to a spellbound audience that “night on the marge of Lake Lebarge,” and The Cremation of Sam McGee.
Bruce leaves behind a legacy of community, hospitality, and generosity of spirit. His dock and door were always open to any who came to call, and thanks to him the family cottage glows with warmth and rings with laughter every summer night.
His family will host a celebration of his life at a later date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society or the Honey Harbour Association.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Bruce Nelson Grant Friday June 26th 2020..
Death notice for the town of: Richmond-Hill, Province: Ontario