Ran originally in Sunday, August 15 editions of Louisiana Gannett newspapers.

Gantt Graham was 31 years and one day younger than me when he passed away suddenly in late December at age 30. Like lots of others, especially those in Ruston who’d known him since he was a happy baby, I think about that guy every day.

Age was never an issue when it came to friendship with Gantt. Neither was color. Nothing mattered except you were a fellow traveler and he was Gantt, everybody’s cheerleader. Since he was a kid in his hometown, he’d strike up conversations with strangers at the ballpark or the restaurant, in the hallways of Temple Baptist, in the classrooms of Ruston High.

You’re lucky if you have five or six true friends in your lifetime, those who’ll be there for you through thin and thinner. Gantt probably had that many by the time he was in junior high, dozens more by the time he graduated from Louisiana Tech.

The child of college sweethearts who treasured him, the baby to two brothers and a sister who adored him, a grandson and uncle and cousin to a large extended family who cherished him, Gantt was always an old soul, a sweet soul, maybe the ultimate “never met a stranger” guy.

We called him The Governor because he knew everyone. Since he was like 5. Always working the room, spreading the cheer, bringing the joy, pushing the positive.

He came from a football family closely tied to the hometown University, so it was not unusual to see him on either the practice field or the Aillet Stadium turf or in a coach’s office before he knew how to do multiplication tables. It would be more unusual not to see him at one of those places. He became a student manager and then on staff as the team’s Head of Equipment Operations. If the team was on buses on the way to a hotel or game, it wasn’t a coach who rode with the caravan-leading state troopers: it was Gantt, all smiles, full of laughter.

Some of us collect things. Gantt collected people. What he shared was Gantt. And memories.

Because of Gantt’s legacy, an endowment was created at the University, a permanent, self-sustaining source of funding that will provide an annual scholarship for a Tech student. The first recipient of the Gantt Graham Endowed Scholarship is Carson Antley, a 2021 Ruston High School graduate who will be coming to Tech this fall to study in the College of Business.

Thank you, Gantt.

Last week, two Ruston area Wish Kids with medical challenges were surprised by Make-A-Wish Louisiana with a reception at Squire Creek Country Club. Wish Kid Lyla, 12, had her wish of horse riding lessons for a year granted. She also got a horse riding starter kit with riding attire and horse-themed accessories.

Kate, 18, just graduated from Ruston High and will attend the University of Arkansas this fall. As soon as restrictions lift, she’ll realize her wish of traveling to New York City to see Broadway shows and experience the city. She also received a New York-themed gift basket along with Razorback-branded items.

Both wishes were granted in Gantt’s name.

Thank you, Gantt.

Gantt’s health was suffering, and he’d had to step away from his job, so it was a surprise but not a shock to learn that he had died suddenly at home. But still, it was one of those things that, when you heard it, you had to find a place to sit down, and shake your head, and wonder why, and then finally, to be grateful you’d known him at all.

What is no surprise is that some friends who loved him deeply honored him in this way, with scholarships created and wishes granted to pay tribute to the legacy of a brother who found the bright side to be the only side worth looking at and living for. It’s a way to say “thank you” to Gantt for his authentic generosity.

We all loved him. After five minutes with the guy, it was impossible not to. He wanted your wishes to come true.

Gantt loved singer/writer/entertainer Jimmy Buffett, who didn’t have a solo No.1 song in Gantt’s lifetime. Like we said, he was an old soul, and there were few things more entertaining than talking Buffett with Gantt. Back in January, his brother Thomas shared this with his little brother’s friends; it’s from a Buffett novel, “A Salty Piece of Land.”

“Grief is like the wake behind a boat. It starts out as a huge wave that follows close behind you and is big enough to swamp and drown you if you suddenly stop moving forward. But if you do keep moving, the big wake will eventually dissipate. And after a long enough time, the waters of your life get calm again, and that is when the memories of those who have left begin to shine as bright and as enduring as the stars above.”