Earl Gene Grantz's Obituary
Earl Gene Grantz
March 13, 1935 - April 18, 2026
Gene Grantz shuffled off this mortal coil rather suddenly on Saturday, April 18, when what we thought was nothing turned out to be something. He was 91, so it was hard to tell.
Gene was born near Ford City, Pennsylvania at the height of the Great Depression to Stanley Earl Grantz and Florence Elma (Fennell) Grantz, the first of two children by this particular pairing or the fifth of six in a complicated, combined family depending on how you count it. We’ll call his childhood “interesting” and leave it at that.
Remarkably - and really to everyone’s credit - after graduating from Ford City Public Schools in 1953, Gene was off to the University of Pittsburgh to study pharmacy, the first in his family ever to go to college. After earning his degree from Pitt, Gene married his high-school sweetheart, Janet Clare (Glenn) Grantz, on April 4, 1959, one condition of which was that “Gene the Baptist” become “Gene the Episcopalian.” The things we do for love. He was serving in the US Army at the time by written invitation of Uncle Sam, so the earliest days of their marriage were spent apart while Gene honed his craft in the medical corps in West Germany. Incidentally, Gene earned a marksman designation, which was endlessly fascinating and deeply incongruous to his children.
Gene and Jan missed each other terribly during his Cold War deployment, thus their first son, David, was born in April 1962. Son 2.0, Brian, followed in August 1964, some nine months following the tragic death of JFK and more natural demise of C.S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley that same day; so if you believe in reincarnation… (we don’t, actually). Third son, Jason, surprised everyone in August 1971.
Gene started his post-service career in Pharmacy working for D.J. Allen at Allen’s Drug Store in Kittanning, Pennsylvania. In 1968, wanting to see what life was like in the big city, Gene, Jan, and kids moved to the ‘burbs of Washington D.C., where Gene worked for a number of pharmacies in short succession, which was both a product of seeking higher wages and the beginning of a wave of retail pharmacy buy-outs that would soon sweep the nation. With three sons and an overfed-but-much-loved Cocker Spaniel in tow, Gene was off to Johnstown, PA in 1974 to work for a couple more pharmacies in quick succession.
Notably, however, while in Johnstown Gene & Family became deeply involved at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, where Gene played a role in affecting much needed renovations to the church that were completed shortly before the Johnstown Flood of 1977, which devastated the entire city. In the aftermath, the Grantz residence became both the command center and ersatz campground for flood relief efforts organized through the Episcopal Church because Gene was, above all else, unfailingly faithful, kind, and generous.
More jobs followed in more places, leading Gene & Co. to Aliquippa PA, State College PA, Philipsburg PA, Cambridge MD, and, finally, Seaford DE, where he retired from pharmacy after sixty years because pharmacists were in short supply and he had a hard time saying “no.”
Gene and Jan were married for 66 years before she preceded him in death last year. Gene missed her terribly, and yet thrived at The Manor House retirement community in Seaford, continuing to serve the community by making sandwiches for Love INC and talking to “the old people” in skilled care. In the end, he was who he strived to become all his life: a faithful, kind, and generous friend to all.
Gene is survived by his three sons: Dr. David Grantz and spouse Marianne of Seaford, DE; The Very Rev. Brian Grantz and spouse Tamisyn of South Bend, IN; and Mr. Jason Grantz and spouse Judy of South Carolina; Also surviving are his daughter-in-law, Ms. Jacqueline Grantz of Shakopee, MN; his much younger brother, Mr. Ron Grantz and spouse Larry Bailey of Sacramento, CA; and six grandchildren (Nathan, Jesse, Thaddeus, Rose, Jadon, and Jared Grantz) who are spread out from New York to Minnesota.
Nathan does not have a cat.
A Memorial Service will be held in the community room at the Manor House, 1001 Middleford Road, in Seaford on Sunday, April 26, at 1 pm. Chaplain Craig von Buseck will officiate. A reception will follow. Interment, along with Janet, will take place at Kittanning Cemetery, Kittanning, PA at a future date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Seaford, DE.
Please sign the tribute wall at this site.
What’s your fondest memory of Earl?
What’s a lesson you learned from Earl?
Share a story where Earl's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Earl you’ll never forget.
How did Earl make you smile?