By Gordon Turner

Where to begin but at the beginning. The first time I saw Grant I was 8 years old. As I was walking home from school one day, a car suddenly pulled up beside me. It was Dad in our VW van and beside him was Mom holding a little bundle. Grant had arrived!

Grant grew up in our house at 10 Wren Avenue in Dorval Quebec. Unfortunately I don’t have any photos of Grant when he was one or two years old, but I do remember that little Grant had a head full of beautiful golden curls. So long and full were the curls that ladies would stop Mom in the local Steinbergs grocery store and comment on the beautiful little girl!

At age 17 I was into motorcycles, and I remember one of Grant’s first motorcycle experiences. I had obtained an old Kawasaki 90 two stroke, and fitted it with wide handlebars and knobby tires. I had just finished working on it and it was ready to go. The bike was on the center stand in the back yard idling beautifully; Grant was watching me, and I thought it would be a good idea if I let him sit on it. I lifted him up and placed him on the seat with his hands on the handle bars. He seemed delighted! I left Grant there as I dashed into the house to get my helmet. I recall hearing a two stroke engine screaming at maximum RPM followed by a crash, and the sound of the engine stuck at maximum throttle. I ran out of the house to see Grant lying on his back on the lawn unharmed, but frightened and almost in tears. It seems while sitting on the bike he had sat back a little, causing the bike to rock back on the centre stand. As Grant grasped the handle grips he twisted the throttle to maximum and managed to cause his foot to put the bike in gear. The bike literally launched itself, throwing Grant off the back. The bike came to a rest fifteen feet away…two feet off the ground, wedged between two trees, the handlebars sheared off. The important thing was that Grant was not hurt. But maybe this incident has something to do with Grant’s relationship with motorized sports!?

Back in 1995 I suggested to Grant that we should take some time off and get away, just us brothers. That’s pretty much all I had to say because he did not need convincing, so the trip was on. A couple of weeks later we were on the beach in Montego Bay, Jamaica. This was the first holiday I had alone with Grant as an adult. Boy did we have fun! Even though I had to half carry Grant back to the room the first night, one of his arms over my shoulders, the other waving to, and greeting guests with a smile and slurred introductions. We met a lot of the guests at Jamaica Grande, did a lot of the activities and managed to have fun and stay safe. Well-ll… with one exception. One day we were snorkelling and feeding the fish with bags of food we had relieved from the breakfast buffet. We had a couple of hundred tropical fish of many different types all around us. It was great! Even when a school of little black Angel Fish got frenzied enough to start biting the hairs on Grant’s leg! We had run out of food and the fish were dissipating. Grant got the idea he would break open a spiny sea urchin and feed the meat to the fish. He attempted to use the tip of his flipper to break the urchin’s shell, all the time treading water and holding his breath. As he stabbed the urchin with his foot the tip of the flipper hit the bottom and folded back exposing his big toe to the urchin’s three inch spines. Grant got it right through the toe! “Yah mon! That hurt!!!!”. At the hotel nursing station Grant was told to “pee” on it and then put a black tar-like substance on it! Thank God for Red Stripe!

On October 4th 1996 Grant married Cindy, a wonderful, caring and supportive woman, who Grant truly loved. They were ideal for each other and made a great team. Grant and Cindy settled into their home on Lake Scugog and started to raise a family. They were blessed with two wonderful boys, Grant Junior and Connor, then a beautiful daughter Jessica. I saw Grant in his role as father to his family, and all could see  his devotion to his children and Cindy. I never knew Grant as much of a hockey fan but that all changed when Grant junior began playing novice hockey. When Grant and I talked he would always mention how the kids were doing in hockey and the other hockey related events going on. Grant was even coaching.

When we visited Grant and Cindy at their home, the kids were always happy and well behaved and always greeted us with hugs all around. Grant really was a good and devoted father and together with Cindy would do all they could to ensure the kids were developing into well-rounded young people, that will have the personality and spirit to succeed in whatever endeavor they choose.

He made sure that he provided opportunities for the kids to experience a variety of activities and experiences. Recently the family had gone on holiday to Cuba with the hockey team and judging by the stories and pictures we saw it was a fun time for the Turner family.

The Turner family and hockey friends in Cuba

To me it was clear Grant wanted to ensure that his kids had a good upbringing and Grant would work as hard as he could to provide for his family.

He will always be loved and remembered