She made life better for others

Accomplished artist, musician and entrepreneur who designed clothes for breast cancer patients always put others before herself

By: Janine LeGal

A safe and loving home overflowing with fun and creativity, with music at the centre of it all and nurturing and devoted caregivers. It’s the kind of childhood that many only dream of having, but for Theona Grace Grant’s family and friends, it was everyday life.

The Grant home was a welcoming household, bustling with laughter, home cooking, piano and guitar-playing, and alive with basement and backyard parties.

“What teenager comes home early from a party because their parents are having a better one than they were at?” said Theona Grant’s oldest daughter Kelly, who now cherishes her mother’s antique piano in her own home.

Always the one to send personalized heart-shaped cookies to school for every child on Valentine’s Day, Grant was also the one to create an impressive Halloween party for the kids, dressed in an elaborate witch’s costume and presiding over a dry-ice cauldron for the green Kool-Aid witch’s brew.

“When we were growing up, Mom always said if anybody was in trouble they should go to our house,” said Kelly. “When my sister’s classroom needed to be evacuated after a fire — all went to our house. The teacher and students wrote letters thanking her.

“Those kids as adults to this day remember the day they convened in our basement and how much they felt cared for by our mother.”

That was Theona, the quintessential mother, homemaker, entrepreneur, accomplished artist and musician.

Grant died at age 91 on March 13. The mother of son Scott and daughters Kelly and Paula had three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Born in the southern Manitoba community of Miami into a close and musical family, Grant was a bright student and a piano prodigy. At age 11 she was touring the countryside, playing in a band and organizing local dances with a friend. People came from small towns everywhere to hear them play.

She graduated from high school two years early, and at age 16 moved to Winnipeg, where she found a job at the Royal Bank after walking in off the street and approaching the manager.

When she met Jim, who was doing a painting job for her father, life changed. They were married in 1954 and moved to Regina, then Winnipeg, where they settled in Fort Garry.

“They were a great love story,” said youngest daughter Paula about her parents. “It’s hard to find a couple that loved each other any more than they did. They always worked together as a team.

“Our father was head of the Manitoba Government Employees Union, so our upbringing was always about being fair and equitable. We would have family meetings, sit down all together and problem-solve. There were conflicts, of course, but we had to find a way to work through them.”

Grant managed a dress shop in which her sense of style was in constant demand.

At age 45, while in the early stages of breast cancer recovery, she was the youngest person to volunteer for the Canadian Cancer Society.

“She did a lot of visitation in hospitals and provided a lot of support,” Kelly said, noting her mother’s bravery and determination throughout her health challenges.

After that, she opened her own business, called Theona’s, where she designed and manufactured nightgowns for women who had undergone mastectomies. Made with breathable cotton, the garments were comfortable, pretty and came in many styles and colours.

“When she discovered that wearing a nightgown after a mastectomy was quite painful, due to the seam location in relation to her surgical site and scarring, she decided it was important to resolve this issue, not just for her but for others as well,” Kelly explained.

“Each nightgown came with a hand-sewn, lightweight, soft cotton prosthesis to fit into a custom-sewn pocket at the area of their surgery. She catered to the comfort of her customers and was happy to give back and fulfil that niche,” she said, adding that her mother never wanted her business to be anything but a labour of love.

Family time included golf and curling, swimming and skating, hockey and basketball. There were camping and trailer trips out West to reconnect with extended family.

Together with her husband, Grant’s attention was on family first and giving back to others through numerous community organizations.

There was door-to-door canvassing for the Canadian Cancer Society, delivering for Meals on Wheels and helping distribute hampers for Winnipeg Harvest and the family’s church.

Kelly will always remember watching her parents dance together.

“They were in sync and you could tell they were having a blast. And when my father would come home from yet another work trip, he would take her in his arms and they would dance in the kitchen. To me, dancing in the kitchen was and still is the epitome of love.”

At age 78, life changed again when Jim died.

“They were each other’s biggest supporters,” said Paula. “Dad loved her to pieces.”

“We see Mom as one of the quiet unsung heroes,” added Kelly. “She was somebody who even as a child was special and unique and absolutely brilliant. She focused her life on trying to make it better for others. Mom put others before herself always. That’s been deeply ingrained in us as her children.”

The accomplished artist was a member of the Fort Garry Palette Club and attended classes through the Winnipeg Art Gallery. She chose not to sell her work, instead displaying her paintings at church and delighting in having them adorn the homes of family and friends.

Grant’s faith was strong; for more 50 years, the active member of Fort Garry United Church served as a Sunday school teacher, a volunteer at the church office and anywhere else help was needed.

“I remember the day Mom and her neighbours were modelling for photos to go on the new Riverwood Square (retirement community) bus,” Kelly said.

“The whole back of the bus had my Mom’s face on it. You can still see my mother’s beautiful face driving around Winnipeg, and it is not unusual for us to share a text with each other: ‘Sitting behind Nana in traffic today,’ with a big smile to go with it.”

“‘It’s easier to do it than it is to think about it,’ she’d say,” Paula said. “That was her motto.”

Through all of life’s ups and downs, Grant never stopped playing her beloved Nordheimer piano.

“At 91 she sat down to play, not much differently from the way she always had,” said Kelly. “There wasn’t a dry eye that day.”

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca