(03/03/41-04/13/26)

James 'Jim' Bryant Gant passed to join God and his terribly missed wife Lorna Gant on April 13, 2026.

Jim was born on March 3, 1941 in Chillicothe, OH to the late Loren and Marian Gant.

In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his brothers, Robert Gant and Jon Gant, and also his wife of 50 years, Lorna Gant.

Jim is survived by his two sons, Christopher James Gant and Bryan Charles Gant and two grandchildren, Dominique and Sebastian Gant.

Jim earned a BS degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 1965, serving in ROTC and also was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. Upon graduation, Jim was commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps and assigned to the Seabees in Davisville, RI where he met Lorna.

Following his first deployment to Vietnam with the Seabees, Jim and Lorna were married before a second deployment to Vietnam, serving as a company commander with over 200 military personnel assigned to his company. Jim often remarked that you matured very quickly with such responsibility in a war zone. Following Vietnam, Jim and Lorna were assigned to Hawaii, initially as an admiral's aide for two years where he travelled extensively throughout the Pacific to such places as Australia, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, and continuing visits to Vietnam.

Following two years as an aide, Jim and Lorna spent an additional two years in Hawaii where Christopher, their first son was born before then heading to Purdue University where a Master Degree in Civil Engineering was earned through the Navy. After two years serving at Camp Lejeune North Carolina where Jim and Lorna's second son, Bryan was born, and then Spanish language training at the Defense Language School in Monterey, CA, four glorious years were spent serving Navy interests and responsibilities in Madrid, Spain and throughout Europe. A two year tour in Washington, DC followed and then assignment in 1982, now as a Navy Commander, to help manage the design and construction of the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, GA.

Although not expecting to remain in St. Marys, Jim and Lorna fell in love with St. Marys and made it their permanent home. Jim retired from the Navy in 1985 and began a long engineering management career as a civilian, first responsible for field installation of industrial plant equipment at the Trident Refit Facility, then design and construction manager of the Skyway Express Peoplemover through downtown Jacksonville, then head of the Jacksonville office of a large national engineering company, then engineering manager of $300 million redevelopment program in Panama City Beach.

Jim served on the St. Marys City Council for 11 years, and liked to think that many good initiatives and improvements occurred during his service. However, Jim felt his greatest achievement occurred prior to his City Council service when he served as the chair of the St. Marys Waterfront Park Committee that oversaw planning, funding, design, and construction of the Waterfront Park, a forever icon on the St Marys waterfront.

Jim is a longtime member of the First Presbyterian Church where he served on several occasions in a leadership role as an elder in the church. Also, Jim earned a Legion of Honor Award for over 40 years as a proud Kiwanian including serving as president. Jim was a member of the Navy League and the Military Officers Association and a fellow in the American Civil Engineers Association. Lorna passed away on December 4, 2017 from Alzheimers.

Following a very lonely grieving period, another wonderful lady came into his life named Irene Husser. Another blessing from God, eventually to become Irene Husser Gant, another wonderful wife and companion, so loving and caring, to share Jim's final days.

Allison Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.  A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church at 10:00 am on Saturday May 2, 2026. The family will then attend a private interment in Oak Grove Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, contributions would be appreciated to the Alzheimer's Association in both Jim and Lorna's name.