QUINLAN -- passed away Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012, in Hunt County, Texas.
Funeral services were 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, at Bridgeview Baptist Church, 400 Panther Path, Quinlin, TX 75474. Interment followed at 2:30 p.m. at Crowley Cemetery, adjacent to the Crowley City Hall, Crowley, Texas.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the Bridgeview Baptist Church.
Wendell was born January 16, 1923, in Ennis, Texas. His family moved to Dallas where he attended Dallas public school, graduating from Sunset High School. While attending the College of Marshall (predecessor of East Texas Baptist University), he married his high school sweetheart, Margie. After he graduated from the
During his college years, he pastored churches in east and central Texas. Upon completion of his education at Baylor in 1947, the family moved to Novato, Calif., where Rev. Grant became the pastor of the newly founded First Baptist Church. In 1952, the family returned to Fort Worth so he could attend Southwestern Seminary for a Master's Degree in Theology. In the mid-1950's, while pastoring Marsalis Park Baptist Church in Oak Cliff, Rev. Grant was asked by some community leaders to organize an election to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages in the Oak Cliff precincts of Dallas County. Forming and chairing a committee of various civic and religious leaders, Rev. Grant succeeded in leading the concerned voters to an overwhelming majority that changed the social fabric of Oak Cliff.
In addition to chairing the Southern Baptist Pastors Conference in Dallas County, he was also nominated for the Linz Award. After serving more than 25 years in the pastorate, he was elected by the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist General Convention to fill the position of Director of Missions for the western area of Colorado. The origins of many churches in Colorado were due in large part to the dedication and leadership of Rev. Grant's 14 years of service there. After retirement in 1985, he served five years as an adjunct professor at East Texas Baptist College in Marshall, Texas.
He was preceded in death by his parents, William Nathanel Grant and Nettie Jane (Bond) Grant; his son, Walter Wendell Grant II and grandsons, Mark and Eric Waggoner.
Survivors include his wife of 69 years. Marjorie L. (LaPlace) Grant; daughter, Elizabeth Jane (Grant) Hawkins of Quinlan; sons, William Edward Grant of Quinlin, Charles Hayden Grant and wife, Joann, of Loveland, Colo.; sisters, Hazel Ferguson and husband, Charles, of Shreveport La., Sally Ward and husband, Charles, of Granbury; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Baumgardner Funeral Chapel in Crowley handled the arrangements. 817-297-1116
Font Resize
