Louise Marie Grant

The family of Louise Grant is sad to announce her passing. Her death occurred at home early on the morning of Wednesday May 14, 2025, apparently of a heart attack. This sudden and unexpected event has left family and friends shaken and grieving.

Louise Marie Celeste Grant (nee Mouat) was born in Vancouver on Oct. 31, 1942. At this time humanity was in the depth of World War II. Her father, Thomas Mouat, was employed by the National Research Council working in eastern Canada on technical aspects of the Canadian war effort. In December 1941 her mother, France (nee Brun), travelled east from Vancouver to marry her neighbourhood boyfriend and start their married life and family. Fran returned to Vancouver to give birth to Louise.

Those war years in Eastern Canada were busy times. Friends and relatives were often staying with the young family, especially when the visitors were between their military deployments. Perhaps Louise’s love of socializing was fostered by those lively first years. When the war ended, the family moved back to Vancouver as Tom was recruited to the University of British Columbia (UBC). Fran described those initial years back in Vancouver as among her happiest. The growing family found themselves in Wesbrook Camp at UBC. The Camp was a group of converted army barracks with many young families living, playing and partying in closed quarters. Louise was the eldest of what became a family of six children. Her siblings are Dianne (Terry), Thomas (Anna), Robert (Susan), Michael and Elizabeth (Duane).

Louise was fortunate her parents built a house right beside UBC in the University Endowment Lands (UHill). It was a new community located between the university and Vancouver. UHill had a small town feel beside the large, cosmopolitan Vancouver. Louise went through grade one to grade twelve at University Hill Elementary and High Schools, and later was able to walk to UBC where she studied in the Education Faculty and became a teacher. She had a passion for history and that was her major. After graduation she taught for many years.

Academically, Louise was a very good student. She was athletic, popular and attractive. It is no surprise that at the rather young age of 16 she met a wonderful young man, Keith Grant. They dated for five years and then got married on June 8, 1963. And what a marvelous, loving 62 years of marriage they had. This union was amongst the happiest and most loving that many of us have witnessed.

After getting married they lived in Vancouver for a while. Later they moved to Coquitlam and eventually built what became their family home on Arundel Lane in the quiet Cape Horn neighbourhood. Louise and Keith’s family grew to three sons, Keith Jr (Monica), Lawrence (Jessica) and Philip (Tina) and grandsons; Eric (Shaylee), Brandon, Oliver, Banner and Ryder. Louise was very proud of and close to her family.

If having the kids and grandchildren was not enough to keep her busy, Louise kept a schedule that would exhaust most people. Getting into her 80s she had reluctantly stopped downhill skiing but still went up to their recreational property at Whistler. This cabin was a project going back more than 50 years, when Whistler was just a one-horse town. Louise and Keith also made time for and enjoyed the family property on Welbury Bay, Salt Spring Island, where her grandparents had retired. She had recently made plans to go to Salt Spring but her death came just two days before leaving. Among her favourite memories were those of time spent at Salt Spring; visiting grandparents, aunts, other family/relatives and friends. Golden memories were made of time spent on the beach as a child, then later with her children and then still later with her grandchildren.

When both she and Keith were retired they began to travel more and thoroughly enjoyed their trips. They kept a busy travel schedule. From Disneyland and Iceland, Croatia and China, the Hawaiian Islands and the Shetland Islands, England and Egypt, too many trips to list. Just this last March Louise, Keith, Philip and Tina travelled to Japan and had a fabulous time. On returning to Canada, Louise and Keith were quickly off on a cruise to Alaska with friends. She certainly kept Keith and the family busy.

Louise would often speak of friends from school and university days, and still get together with them. Lunch with sorority sisters, school re-union dates, going to the theatre, meeting colleagues and family events were among the important items on her schedule. She loved socializing.

But travel and socializing were not all that kept her busy. Louise and Keith played an important role in caring for her parents as Tom and Fran aged. Tom passed away in 2001 at the age of 88 and Fran lived until 2022 and the age of 104. Recently, Louise and Keith have been busy helping with their young grandson Oliver. Never a dull moment.

Louise would have been thankful for the wonderful life she had but perhaps frustrated that she did not get more time with family and friends. She had the world by the tail, right up to her death.

Louise was a smart, kind, thoughtful, generous person. She was a good daughter, a good sister, a good mother and a good wife. She will be missed by many. But for those many, they will have warm memories of times spent with her. Louise, rest in peace, you had a life well lived.