Earl Lee Grant

Earl Lee Grant, MD, passed away in the predawn hours of October 22, 2015, at the age of 86. He was born in El Paso, TX, May 16, 1929, to Wheeler Haywood Grant and Thelma Means Grant. He spent his early years in Marfa, TX, before moving to Laredo for a short time and then to San Benito, TX, in the eighth grade. His new friends called him “Marfa.” Earl graduated from high school in 1946 where he played football and claims his team physician inspired him to go into medicine. He was also President of his Senior Class.
Several of Earl’s San Benito friends decided to attend college together and chose Texas A&M University. At A&M he was a member of the Corps of Cadets and as a Senior served as Company Commander of Battery “B” Field Artillery. Earl received his BS Degree in 1950 along with his commission as a 2nd Lt. in the United States Army.
Upon graduation he married his high school sweetheart Kate Brown and was stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana and Ft. Sill, Oklahoma before departing for his assignment in Germany. Earl served as an Artillery Officer from 1951-1953 and was honorably discharged with the rank of Captain.
Earl enrolled in A&M once again to pursue the necessary courses to apply to med school. He attended the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and received his Doctor of Medicine Degree in 1958 having served as President of Alpha Kappa Kappa Medical Fraternity his senior year.
Earl then completed an Internship at Brackenridge Hospital in 1958-1959; and from 1959-1965 he was in family practice with Drs. Jerry Senter, E.V. Chauvin and B.J. Smith and has cited those years “as among the most satisfying of his career.”
During this time Earl was the Stadium doctor for the UT football games and drove his burnt orange Volkswagen to the front of Memorial Stadium. He also served as the team doctor for the McCallum High School football team whose coach had been his football coach at San Benito High School. Further, he made regular calls to the Texas School for the Deaf and mentioned throughout the years how much he enjoyed being there for those children.
Earl enjoyed being able to do something of everything – surgery, delivering babies, and all of the health needs family physicians were allowed to do then; but he could see a restricted office practice in the future and in 1965 elected to pursue a career in Anesthesiology. Dr. Pepper Jenkins, Department Chairman at Parkland Memorial Hospital, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, and one of the most renowned Anesthesiologists in the world, became Earl’s mentor and lifelong friend. Upon completion of his residency, Earl was the seventh physician to join Austin Anesthesiology Group in 1967.
During his career, Earl was President of the Texas Society of Anesthesiologists and President of The Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas (then called the Blood Bank) having served a term as Secretary/Treasurer and Member at Large for 14 years. He and Diane both served on the Development Committee which renovated and expanded the Center. Earl also received a plaque from the “Emergency Medical Services in recognition for Training Paramedic Students.”
He was very active in the Travis County Medical Society serving as President in 1978. He was also a member of the Board of Censors and Medical Legislation Committee as well as Chairman of the Physician Health and Wellness Committee. He received the TCMS Gold Headed Cane Physician of the Year Award in 1995 and was a member of the TCMS Delegation to the Texas Medical Association for several years.
A dedicated supporter of the Texas Medical Association, Earl joined the TMA in 1959. He served as Chairman of the Board of Councilors, TMA’s ethics and disciplinary arm, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and was a member of the Executive Committee. He was also a member of the House of Delegates and TEXPAC. Earl was most proud of their beautiful new building on 15th Street which was built during his tenure on the Board. He was a member of the Governor’s Committee to initiate tort reform in the State of Texas.
Earl became a member of the Board of Trustees of the Texas Medical Association Foundation in 2002 participating on the Advisory Council as well as the Gala and Development Committees while taking part in the Leadership Society. He was honored by the TMAF with the Heart of Gold Award in 2015 but was never able to be present to receive the award in person.
Earl was Chief of Staff at St. David’s Community Hospital in 1984. He was a Trustee of the St. David’s Foundation Board and continued to serve on its successor entity – the Community Access Committee. He was devoted to St. David’s and practiced there nearly 40 years not fully retiring until the age of 75. He was currently a member of The Chairman’s Emeritus Council.
Earl bleeds maroon and was an avid supporter of all things Texas A&M. He was
President of the 12th Man Foundation and kept up with his B Battery classmates throughout the years. He gave a Permanently Endowed 12th Man Scholarship to A&M; and in 1985 the Class of 1950 gave one in his name along with three others from his class.
Earl and his family were members of University Christian Church for many years where he served as a Deacon and Elder.
Earl was a member of the Headliners Club and Tarry House. As a former member of the Austin Country Club for around 50 years, he received the Sportsman of the Year Award in 1985. It was at the old ACC where he met Harvey Penick who became his teacher and mentor and with whom he developed a doctor-patient relationship and a deep friendship. He was at his bedside when Harvey passed away, signed his death certificate, and served as one of his pallbearers.
Earl was preceded in death by his wife Kate Brown Grant and his parents Wheeler Haywood Grant and Thelma Means Grant. He is survived by his wife Diane of 26 years; his son Glenn Haywood Grant and wife Judy; and grandchildren Jason Wheeler Grant and wife Lyndsey; Cody Christopher Grant; and Ashley Kate Grant; and by Diane’s sons Howell Mallory Finch, Jr., and wife Beverly and Stanley Frank Finch and wife Linda; and her grandchildren Stanley James Finch and wife Beth, Howell Mallory Finch III and wife Aimee, Charles Harris Finch and wife Autumn, Henry Carter Finch, Amelia Mallory Finch and Mary Frances Finch; and three great grandchildren.
Earl’s family is extremely grateful for the professional and compassionate care of the physicians and nurses in the ER and ICU at St. David’s Medical Center along with the support staff. We are also most grateful for Earl’s caregivers Tony LaCivita, Estella Avila and Monica Jackson, who went the extra mile to keep him safe and comfortable, and for his Physical Therapist Tonya Maloy.
Earl will be greatly missed for his caring and generous demeanor. He loved life, his country, the heat of the Texas sun, golf, Texas A&M and Aggie football, the practice of medicine, and above all his family and friends.
A memorial service will be held at the Church of the Good Shepherd on Saturday, October 31 at 1:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 3201 Windsor Road, Austin, TX 78703; St. David’s Neal Kocurek Scholarship (for students planning on majoring in a medical related field), P. O. Box 302259, Austin, TX 78703; Texas School for the Deaf Foundation, 1102 South Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78704; TMA Foundation, 401 West 15th Street, Austin, TX 78701; or a charity of your choice.
Arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home (512) 452-8811. Obituary and memorial guestbook available online at www.wcfish.com