Grant was born on May 30, 1985, to Arch and Deborah McAlister in Dayton Ohio. His family moved to Somerset KY during his early school years, Grant remained in Somerset until he graduated from Southwestern High School and went on to college at WKU. He earned a Bachelor's degree in History, then furthered his education by earning his MBA. During his college years he made many lifelong friends through his fraternity (Farmhouse), WKU's Ducks Unlimited chapter, and his MBA program.
Grant and Adair met in the Spring of 2011 through mutual friends in their Greek life organizations. They married in 2013 and called Bowling Green home. Grant loved the outdoors and over the years has enjoyed hunting with friends in many places across the US and traveling abroad. They welcomed their son Liam to this world in August 2020. Liam was Grant's greatest source of pride and joy since the first moment he laid eyes on him.
To know Grant was to love him, and the number of lives he has touched has been incredible to witness. Grant was often the voice of reason, he was the calm within the storm, and incredibly patient. He was passionate and curious, his inquisitiveness and keen intellect drove all his pursuits. He was not a man of many words, but what he said carried weight and was quick-witted. He was a believer in "tough love," but his advice always came from a place of deep caring. Whatever he did, he was all in! He loved nature, furthering conservation efforts, learning about his family heritage, attending Scottish Highland games, cooking new recipes, and spending time with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Danielle Rice and I are both 'fixers' or 'problem solvers'. Early on, when Grant received his Melanoma diagnosis, we both got to work in the background, trying to figure out what we could do to help Grant and Adair. Adair was driving hundreds of miles a week while Grant was recovering from his spinal surgery. We knew from the beginning that the biggest strain would be financial. So, we came together to organize a benefit for the McAlister's. In the early planning stages, the goal was simply to bring everyone together and raise money for whatever Adair & Grant needed. We never dreamed that Grant would become very ill suddenly, and that we would all switch gears to help plan a celebration of life and a chili benefit within a few weeks of each other.
Between November 26th, 2023, and December 10th, 2023, I worked on creating this video to celebrate Grant’s life, to be played at the Chili Benefit. The whole video, in total, is over 11 minutes long, and I probably could have made it longer if I tried! I viewed hundreds of photos from over the last 15 years of Grant's life. Grant was a part of my life for almost as long as Adair has been my best friend. I met Adair my first week of college while attending Western Kentucky University in the Fall of 2010, and we instantly clicked! Grant decided to tag along not too long after my first semester at WKU. I guess, by default, he was one of my best friends too. Now, looking back on the time I spent collecting and organizing the slides for this video, it was a way for me to use my creativity and promote my own healing. I’ve had to divide the video into segments to be able to share them.
The Chili Benefit was held on December 10th, 2023. We raised $5,888.00 for Adair & Liam that night, and once again, we had a reason to come together to celebrate Grant.
As the title page states in this clip, “A baby fills a place in your heart that you never knew was empty.” At the time of making this video, I never thought that Liam would fill the place in our hearts that we never knew would be empty after Grant's passing. I am thankful to be able to watch Liam grow, and with that growth, I will be able to share all the special memories I have of Grant. One of the cherished memories is the text message we got on August 14th, 2020. I stood still reading it and patiently awaited the arrival of a photo of Liam. Liam's birth was not typical due to his arrival amidst the global pandemic (Covid-19). For the first six months, we relied on photos from Grant and Adair to see Liam grow due to fear of infecting him with the virus. It’s funny to relive all those feelings of fear now, almost four years later, with a new perspective on life and living to the fullest each day
Grant & Adair McAlister, the dynamic duo, tied the knot on a gorgeous fall day, September 21st, 2013. Picture this: the air crisp with autumn vibes, leaves painting the golf course in hues of gold and crimson. Surrounded by their nearest and dearest, they said "I do" in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where love blossomed like wildflowers in the fields. It was a day filled with laughter, hugs, and happy tears, marking the beginning of their forever tale, written in the heartwarming chapters of their love story.
