Kent Grant
 

June 23, 2004
Dear Sherry,

After retiring from State service in December 2001, and working on my share of projects around the house, I thought it was a good time to submit my edition of “whatever happened to the NUHS class of ‘65“. 

I spent the first semester of college at Sierra struggling through the trials and tribulations of learning how to study and not playing any sports since I was fifteen years old.  To make matters worse, I also rolled the ol’ yellow Metro on highway 49 leaving me without transportation since I was a sophomore at NU. Lastly, living with three high school buddies soon proved  that I was not living in a swinging bachelor pad, and besides no one really seemed to know how to cook or clean.   Anyway, by the next semester, I moved back with my parents, who had relocated to San Andreas, California, and began commuting by bus to Delta Junior College in Stockton.  If tedious and monotonous could be classified as fun, I should have died laughing.  I kept it together that first year and found myself 30 units into junior college higher academia.  Stay with me here!   Somehow, I found my way back to the football field  at Delta.  To make a long story shorter, I gained weight and strength before being elected MVP and co-captain during my fifth semester.  I also found out that schools like Stanford and Vanderbilt did not have room or were interested in 190-pound linebackers in their programs.  The summer of 66, I met my future wife, Marie Eleana.  We were married in February 1968, soon after I graduated from junior college.  We moved to Hayward, California, where I completed my junior year, played a little more ball before running out of money, motivation, and becoming a new father.  Our first son’s name is Joseph Allen.  I left school and after another  year of dead-end jobs, my attitude changed and I   entered  the University of the Pacific as a senior. I finally graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in  Sociology.

My first real job after graduating  from UOP was as a District Executive working for the Boys Scouts of America in all the fun areas of downtown Sacramento, Bryte and Broderick, and South Sacramento.  After a year of recruiting and training adults, plus raising moneys for programs, I decided that the low pay outweighed the  title and bid adieu to the scouting program forever.

In January 1973, I began my career in State service working for the California Youth Authority as a Youth Counselor.  My second son,  John Martin, was born in 1974.  Along the way, I earned my Master of Arts degree from the University of San Francisco in 1979, in Public Service, and yada, yada, yada regarding graduate school.  After working three institutions and ten years down the career road, I decided to change my focus and apply to the Department of Corrections.  In 1983, I was promoted to a Correctional Counselor I at Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy, working the main line, Nuestra Familia Unit and protective custody units for the next two years.  It was a great experience working with adults in the prison setting, but the CYA days of care and treatment soon became a distant memory compared to an adult prison setting.  DVI really rocked back then, using more gas to quell inmate disturbances than all the other prisons in the state put together.  In 1985, I was able to follow my career goals set in high school, and transferred to Stockton as a  field Parole Agent.

This experience and the next fifteen years was the zenith of my career, working with all types of law enforcement personnel, parolees, their families, and of course, the courts.  Although I view Stockton as the anal cavity of California if not the world, it also is the cornucopia of crime, ripe with those types just waiting to be caught.  Given that, it was a wonderful  place to work!  Some of the more exciting times dealt with high control cases, gang members, sexual predators,  some high notoriety types, and drugs every where.  In the last two years of my fieldwork, I was able to work in the rural counties of Calaveras and Amador.  These two counties were much like Nevada County and unlike San Joaquin in that the local cops and sheriffs knew mostly all the bad guys, their friends, and there weren‘t many places for them to hide for very long.  In the last two years of my career, I promoted to Parole Agent II and led a team of parole agents in  the  revocation unit back at DVI.  Basically the work was a liaison position between prisons, parole units, law enforcement agencies, and the Board of Prison Terms.  In short, I  had a most fulfilling career in corrections and although retirement is great, I do admit that I miss the excitement and  camaraderie of those career chapters from my life..

In April of 2000, my wife of 32 years was taken seriously ill and quickly passed away.  She is  loved and missed by family and friends.  In October 2001,  I remarried and I am a very happy man.  My wife (Ellen) is an Associate Warden at California State Prison - Sacramento, and plans to retire some time in the next three years.  I know it is really tough to marry a younger, beautiful, and intelligent woman,  but I eagerly took on the duty and have not dropped the ball even once.  Between Ellen and I, we have five children and eight grandchildren, all of whom are healthy and growing.  My days, at present, are usually spent keeping healthy,  playing senior softball,  and fine tuning my househusband duties of cooking and cleaning.  There are many projects to complete such as restoration of an old 65 Formula S Barracuda, restoration of an older home, and I might even learn to fly an ultra light (I tried it and loved it).  There simply is not enough time in the day.   I shouldn‘t forget to mention that I am also the daily dog walker  extraordinaire to two, pound bred bitches who are well known in North Lodi.  Yes, I have become the old guy who everyone says hello to because of the dogs, and who dutifully picks up their messes in plastic bags. This concludes the Cliff Note version  of my 39 years since graduation.  Peace and good health to  everyone in the  class of 65, and hope to hear from you or see you at the next reunion.

Kent Allen Grant

Click on photo for a larger view...

This one "simply of Ellen and myself...proof that I still have some hair and a real babalicious."

One of their typical weekend softball tournaments.
 

The ultra light picture was with the "real" pilot and my father/George, taken in Lodi in 2003, after our first flight.

2005

The Kent Grant - Rick Launius Reunion!

This was taken at one of Rick's softball games. Kent writes, "Thought you'd enjoy these softball pictures of Rick in  action with the Farm.  Here's proof that Rick still has his good looks as well as his great legs, after 40 years!  He says he's looking forward to the high school reunion, and our reunion today was most enjoyable.

We wanted to share some pictures of recent fun times...

The motorcycle picture is a day trip on the Delta in 2004. It is still fun to ride looking for crusty and salty bars and restaurants along the waterways.

In June 2005, we spent a lovely weekend with Jan (Toy) and George Vafis enjoying their company at their home in San Diego.
 

In May 2005 we ran the Bay to Breakers again in San Francisco. The picture includes Ellen, moi, old friends Sammy, Danny and my oldest son Joe. We all partied and even beat our times from the previous year. Looking forward to the reunion. Keep up the great work!

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