Tom Grant, a polio survivor who died Tuesday at age 84, poses with the contents of a ShelterBox, which is an organization that provides temporary housing to those rendered homeless by war, strife or natural disasters around the world. Grant won numerous awards for his service to ShelterBox.

Tom Grant was a three-sport athlete in high school, but contracted polio before the first football game of his senior year.

Being dealt such a blow would devastate the average man, but Grant’s wife of 27 years, Marie, thinks it turned him into the passionate volunteer and fundraiser that will be missed by many around the area and world.

Grant, 84, of Zelienople, died Tuesday at Butler Memorial Hospital after a life spent chasing his mission to make the Earth a better place through education and service.

Marie talked about her husband’s life on Thursday as she selected photos for his viewing and put meals in the refrigerator that were prepared and delivered by the couple’s many friends.

She said although he lost the use of his left leg at age 17 after the polio diagnosis, he went on to teach world cultures at a high school in Montgomery County, participate in a church mission trip to the Mexican border, volunteer to help black residents sign up to vote in the 1960s, teach multiple free classes on world religion at the Zelienople Area Public Library, and engage in volunteer projects with the Zelienople Rotary International club that he joined in 2002 after moving to the borough with Marie.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that appears in Sunday’s Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to learn more about Tom Grant’s life.