Bob and Eleanor Grant believed in the power of education to open doors for young people who wish to develop their professional abilities, especially in the natural and environmental sciences.
Bob and Eleanor represented our country overseas for more than 30 years. At home, they espoused an international perspective, for they had seen a lot of the world. They believed in democracy and they treated people fairly. Often anonymously, they encouraged youth with scholarships and opportunities to spend time in nature. They prized professionalism and civility and friendship. As they grew older, they told stories together, their combined memory remarkably clear. They loved and respected one another in a marriage that spanned 62 years.
Bob and Eleanor served on boards and strengthened the communities where they lived. They enjoyed the theatre. And wherever they were, they converted friends into family. They volunteered their time and gave generously of their resources.
Eleanor May Lewis Grant (1914 - 2003)
Eleanors devotion to addressing the needs of other people was selfless. From 1980 to 1998, as Membership Chair for Seattle Audubon, Eleanor would spend 30 hours or more per week updating the membership records, often by contacting members. She had a genuine interest in solving those little problems that can make a person feel devalued or forgotten in todays impersonal world. Eleanor loved poetry and the dramatic arts and the English language well-spoken. And she had a special fondness for chickadees. Eleanor was the first in her family to attend college, the University of Washington, where in 1941 she met and married Bob.
Robert Yearington Grant (1913 - 2003)
Bob, also the first in his family to attend college, received a BS in geology from the University of Washington in 1938. He was a geologist for a gold mine in Oregon, then served in the Army from 1941-1945, and after leaving the Army as a Lt. Colonel, he was the chief of the mining and geology division for the Natural Resources section of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers in Japan from 1946-51. From Japan, Bob and Eleanor moved to Taiwan, then to Indonesia, where he was an Assistant Director at the US Department of State. After Indonesia, Bob served with US Aid to International Development (US AID) in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Guatemala, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), and Pakistan. In 1970 Bob was appointed Assistant Director for Population and Health, AID, a position he held until his retirement in 1977. Even after he retired, he would consult on Population and Family Planning for the American Public Health Association, in Egypt, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, and Nepal.
Upon returning permanently to the USA, in 1980, Bob served on the board of directors and became president of the Seattle Audubon Society. He then went on to serve as a director of the National Audubon Society.
Never ones to seek recognition for the gifts they made, Bob and Eleanor supported National and Seattle Audubon campaigns such as those to preserve wetlands, promote population control, bring environmental opportunities to young people, ensure the health of our nations natural resources, and recognize the enduring contributions of volunteers.
Scholarship recipients of The Bob and Eleanor Grant Trust carry forth Bob and Eleanors belief that young people who need financial help yet who have the drive and desire to make professional contributions to understanding and protecting natural resources, are truly deserving of their investment.
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