Kenneth Michael (Mike) Grant of Winchester, TN, age 88, died peacefully at his home on Sunday, October 27, 2024.
Born in Winchester on March 4, 1936, Mike grew up working in the Grant family grocery business and graduated from Franklin County High School in 1954. At Georgia Institute of Technology he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and earned a bachelor of science in industrial management in 1959. He later attended Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business as a Stanford-Sloan Executive Fellow, Class of 1969.
After working in procurement for the U.S. Air Force in the early 1960s, Mike transferred to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, where he held several Contract Office positions. A highlight of his career was serving as the lead negotiator and contract writer for the design and production of the Lunar Roving Vehicle, the first of which made its lunar landing in 1971 with the Apollo 15 mission. Three of the original LRVs reside on the moon today. Details of his involvement are included in the 2021 book Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings, by Earl Swift. He subsequently served as the lead negotiator and principal writer for the contract between NASA and Rocketdyne for the design and production of the Space Shuttle Main Engines.
After leaving NASA, Mike accepted an executive position with Gulf South Research Institute, a Louisiana not-for-profit organization, and relocated to Baton Rouge where he and his family would reside for many years. He returned to Huntsville in 1987 and held senior management positions with Rockwell Space Systems (later acquired by The Boeing Company) before retiring in 1999.
Mike and wife Martha Lunsford Grant were married for 65 years, and he was a proud father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He attended the Winchester Cumberland Presbyterian Church and volunteered in the local community. He was an avid reader of biographical non-fiction and World War II history, and an enthusiastic football fan, especially if Georgia Tech was playing. A friend to any animal that crossed his path, he always made sure the bird feeders were full and there was ample water for deer, stray cats, and other neighborhood critters.
He was preceded in death by his parents, William Alton Grant and Mary Emma Riddle Grant, his sister Evelyn Knight and brother-in-law Bill Knight, and nephews Andy Knight and Jeff Lunsford. He is survived by his wife, son Chris Grant (Carol) of Summerville, SC, daughter Lesley Grant (Todd Munson) of Los Angeles, CA, grandchildren Michael Grant of Summerville, and Katie Moise (John Ross) and great-granddaughter Riley of Bluffton, SC, nieces Melissa Henson (David) of Columbia, TN and Julie Cook (Brian) of Lewisburg, TN, June Knight of Winchester, brother-in-law Jeff Lunsford (Kay) and nephew Mark Lunsford of Old Hickory, TN, and many great-nieces and great-nephews.
A private family service will be held at a later date. Memorial gifts may be made to the Franklin County Humane Society, the Winchester Cumberland Presbyterian Church, or a charitable organization of your choice.
