Nathan Granger

On Thursday, October 6, 2016, Nathan Ray Granger, 71, of  Sulphur, LA took his final breath at West Cal-Cam Hospital surrounded by love and joined his beloved parents, Curley and Rose, and brothers Jim, Percy and Bobby Granger whom his heart so ardently loved, grieved and longed to see.   Nathan was born on September 22, 1945 in Mamou, LA, the fourth of eight children and the self-designated “peacemaker” of the home.  Made of equal parts mischief and curiosity, young Nathan could be found engineering homemade, working rockets and training lizard astronauts, or with his brother peddling down the highway on their bicycles with an alligator draped over the handlebars intent on fashioning a pair of alligator shoes until the cops pulled them over and took it away.  Though his family moved often, they called Lake Charles home and LaGrange Senior High became Nathan’s final Alma Mater. 

On March 30, 1968, Nathan married the great love of his life, Martha Rose Chapman who stayed by his side until his very last breath.  Every year on his birthday beginning when they were only dating, she made him a German chocolate cake from scratch and made her final one on September 22, 2016. After nearly 50 cakes, Martha announced on October 7, 2016 that there would be no more- that privilege belonged only to Nathan. She gave him three daughters: Cindy, who gifted him his greatest treasure, his grandchildren, his love of whom was matched only by their adoration for him; Jennifer, who inherited her mother’s selfless devotion and cared for his needs until the very end; and Miranda, his baby he insisted stay in her baby bed in his bedroom until she was five years old and whom he would later call his little ally.    They enjoyed many long road trips across America together as a family, always to places where rockhounds Nathan and Martha could hunt for diamonds, sapphires, opal, gold, and fossils, his most prized discovery being a 65 million year old fully intact crocodile near Kemmerer, Wyoming. 

As a young man, Nathan proudly served in the Army National Guard and as a family man, supported his loved ones as a process operator at the Citgo Refinery in Sulphur.  His coworkers whom he also called friends could attest to his prowess and proficiency, recounting the times he saved them as well as the times he amused and perhaps even annoyed them with his practical jokes and office cartoons he would draw to tease his work family. 

Art was Nathan’s passion, being a prolific artist of nearly every medium.  His self-taught works included beautiful paintings, copper beatings, jewelry, leatherwork, alabaster jars and boxes and woodworking.  If Nathan saw it, he could make it.   He loved the enjoyment his works brought others, and wasn’t above patting his own back on occasion, once proclaiming, “I’m so brilliant I light up a room when I walk in.”  And he was brilliant indeed.

As the years took their toll, and his hands no longer served him as they once did, Nathan took to nurturing his pets as a means to express his beautiful soul.  He nursed his faithful dog Tori, spoon-feeding her by hand until her passing and will be interred with the ashes of his beloved house panther Buckwheat who passed only a few months before him.  Everyday he could be found feeding and watching his cats on the back porch, putting vitamins in their food and even allowing the wildlife to partake of the healthy fare, ensuring Kathy Drive boasted the healthiest and shiniest raccoons and possums in Southwest Louisiana.   

Nathan is survived by his wife Martha Granger, his children Cindy (Joe) Walker and Jennifer Granger, all of Sulphur, LA, and Miranda Granger of Los Angeles, CA, his granddaughters Ginger “Nikki” (Chris) Champeau of Westlake, LA and Hadassah “Haddie” and Brooklyn Walker of Sulphur, LA, and his siblings Lee Ann Virgadamo of Sulphur, LA, Ferna Mae (Ricky) Cormier of Topsy, LA, Louella (Lane) Levan of Greensboro, NC, and Curley (Darlene) Granger Jr. of Middleburg, FL, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.  All will miss him immensely.

Visitation and funeral services will be held at Johnson and Robison Funeral Home in Sulphur LA and will be officiated by Rev. Ronnie Bishop.   Visitation will be from 2pm-7pm on Sunday, October 9, 2016 and from 9am until the funeral begins at 1pm on Monday, October 10, 2016.   Graveside services will begin at 3pm at Indian Village Cemetery in Indian Village, LA.   In lieu of flowers, please consider the needs of the family.