John Thomas Grant (October 25, 1920 – January 26, 2010)"Judge John T. Grant was known for his humor, grace", ''Omaha World-Herald'' (January 27, 2010), p. 5B. was a justice of the

Nebraska Supreme Court The Nebraska Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The court consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. Each justice is initially appointed by the governor of Nebraska; using the Missouri Plan, each ...

. He was appointed September 1, 1983, to replace retiring Judge McCown, and served until his retirement in 1993. Born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, Grant attended local schools before working for the Nebraska Power Company until he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He served in the Pacific Theatre, and "was in Okinawa when the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima". He received his law degree from the

Creighton University School of Law Creighton University School of Law, located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, is part of the Jesuit Creighton University. History The School of Law was founded in 1904 as a joint project with the Omaha Bar Association, with Timothy J. Mahoney ...

in 1950, and entered private practice. In 1973, Grant was elected president of the Omaha Bar Association, taking office the following year. In February 1973 Grant was approved for appointment to the Nebraska Court of Industrial Relations. On April 17, 1974, Governor

J. James Exon John James Exon (August 9, 1921June 10, 2005) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 33rd Governor of Nebraska from 1971 to 1979, and as a U.S. Senator from Nebraska from 1979 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Ex ...

appointed Grant to a seat on the Nebraska Fourth Judicial District Court vacated by the elevation of Donald Brodkey to the state supreme court, and in 1983, Governor

Bob Kerrey Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietn ...

appointed Grant himself to the state supreme court. Grant was married twice, first to Marian Saner on December 27, 1947,"Grant-Saner Rite Held", ''Omaha World-Herald'' (December 28, 1947), p. 10-E. with whom he had five children, and after her death to Zella Thomas. Grant died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in Omaha, at the age of 89.

References

1920 births 2010 deaths Lawyers from Omaha, Nebraska United States Army personnel of World War II Creighton University School of Law alumni Justices of the Nebraska Supreme Court Deaths from pneumonia in Nebraska {{Nebraska-state-judge-stub