Grant Luther

Grant A. Luther, age 75, of Kalamazoo, MI passed away, unexpectedly, Sunday afternoon August 6, 2017 at his residence. Grant was born May 4, 1942 in Pontiac, Michigan the son of Arnold and Ethelyn (Smith) Luther. Grant was a high school graduate of Holly High and PROUDLY attended and graduated in 1971 from Michigan State University with a B.A. in Criminal Justice. Go Green! During the Vietnam War, he served in Germany and France with the U.S. Air Force. He had been a Kalamazoo area resident since 1974 and was employed with Western Michigan University as a police officer before leaving in 1978 to be a stay at home dad. On May 8, 1976, he was united in marriage to Marilyn K. (Emery) Luther who survives. Also surviving, 2 daughters, Stephanie Luther and Stacey Flores both of Kalamazoo; 3 grandchildren, Tanner Luther and Annika and Gabriel Flores; 2 sisters, Diana Wagoner of Fenton, MI and Patricia Luther of Holly, MI; an uncle; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. While being a stay at home dad, he was hardly home. Grant spent six months as the night manager at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, worked with a local builder on construction sights and along with Marilyn spent many hours volunteering in the girls' schools. Grant worked many summers at the softball fields running and umpiring games and weekend tournaments. He was chosen to be an umpire for 1987 Men's Modified National Tournament in Decatur, Alabama, where he turned it into a magical trip surprising his girls with a vacation to Disney World. Grant shared his love of traveling and volunteering to his grandkids where he was often found in one of their classrooms or at the school helping in some way. All 3 grandkids kept him busy running Grandpa's taxi and Gradma's daycare. Recently Grant could be located at a baseball diamond watching Gabe play travel ball or in the gym watching Annika play volleyball or calling Tanner to update him (or receive the update) on the latest Spartans teams, as they shared their love for MSU. A memorial gathering will be held from 1-3pm Saturday, August 12th at the Langeland Family Funeral Homes, Westside Chapel, 3926 S. 9th St. Private burial will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Talons Out Honor Flight (PO Box 280 Portage, MI 49081 www.talonsouthonorflight.org or to Kalamazoo Loaves And Fishes.