Willie F. Brant
COLUMBIA - Funeral Services for Willie F. Brant of Columbia, S.C., will be held Monday, October 6, 2008, at 3:00 p.m. at Greenlawn Funeral Home Chapel with graveside service following in Greenlawn Memorial Park. Interpretation will be provided for the deaf. Visitation will be held Sunday, October 5, 2008, from 6-8:00 p.m. at Greenlawn Funeral Home. On-line condolences may be sent to www.mem.com. Greenlawn Funeral Home is honored to be assisting the Brant family.
Born in 1911 near Ulmers, S.C., Mr. Brant was the son of Luther and Leila Preister Brant. One of nine siblings, he attended the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind in Spartanburg S.C. He was a cabinet maker and attended First Baptist Church.
A man of varied interests, Mr. Brant was the first deaf person in S.C. to obtain a student pilot’s license. He was an excellent navigator who enjoyed flying the skies of South Carolina in the 1960s.
Mr. Brant is survived by his wife Marie Barnes Brant and her two sons by previous marriage, Edwin and Dennis Black, and daughter, Diane McAteer; stepgrandchildren, Wendy Black, Bobby Black, Sandy Moody, Brandon Gunter, Rachel Black, Grace Black, Jamie McAteer; three stepgreat-grandchildren and two, stepgreat-great-grandchildren; a son, Tommie F. Brant by previous marriage to Ella Brant (deceased); three grandchildren, Russell and Jeff Brant, Laura Brant Lenski, and three great-grandchildren, Jacob, Joseph and Michael Lenski.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers memorial contributions be made to The First Baptist Deaf Ministry, P.O. Box 1000, Columbia, SC 29202-1000.