Trelawny business icon Kenneth Grant Sr is dead
Published:Wednesday | January 15, 2020 | 12:08 AMLeon Jackson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Well-known southern Trelawny businessman Kenneth Grant Sr, who is credited with transforming Albert Town into a premier economic centre in the western parish, died at his home on Monday.
He was 95.
Full of charisma, Grant was highly revered in the fields of business and philanthropy. His endorsement of persons was legendary, imbuing them with instant respect in the parish.
In speaking to the late businessman’s range of influence, Kenneth Grant Jr, president of the Trelawny chapter of the Lay Magistrates Association of Jamaica, described his father as the heart and soul of Albert Town.
“He not only invested in business, but he also invested in the people. He spent his life building of Albert Town while contributing to the wider Trelawny. We will be eternally grateful to him for the role he played in transforming the many lives he has touched over the years,” said the younger Grant, who has followed his father’s footstep into the world of business and service.
A KIND GIANT
Environmentalist Hugh Dixon, who is also a native of Albert Town, lavished praise on Grant, describing him as the main architect in creating economic opportunities for other entrepreneurs in the rural town.
“He bought land, cut down trees, and filled gullies, which opened doors for other people to become entrepreneurs,” said Dixon, who heads the South Trelawny Environmental Agency.
“There is nobody in and around Albert Town who does not know Maas Ken. He was always giving towards worthy causes or just an immediate need. Several persons can attest to the kindness of this giant of a man. He would give interest-free loans and would not increase the price of goods he credited from his hardware,” added Dixon.
Grant, who was born in 1924, had the distinction of being the longest-serving justice of the peace in the history of Trelawny, serving for several decades.
“He served as a justice of the peace for many, many years, and to paraphrase an expression by Governor General Sir Patrick Allen, Ken Grant Sr, was right for Jamaica,” said Trelawny Custos Paul Muschett.
Grant, the father of 10 children, was also a devoted churchman who served on numerous boards of organisations. He was also considered a cornerstone at the Anglican Church in Albert Town.