Henry G. Lerch

Henry “Grant” Lerch was born 78 years ago in Sligo, PA. He had 4 brothers and 4 sisters. Henry graduated from Rimersburg in 1961. He married his High School sweetheart Catherine Murray, had 2 children Christina Jean Lerch and Kevin Grant Lerch, and one grandson, David Grant Lerch. He worked as an apprentice plumber for a few years and then was given the opportunity to serve as a full-time plumber for Pratt and Whitney Aircraft in East Hartford, CT as one of the youngest plumbers at the time.

He worked there for 10 years before deciding to start his own plumbing company. He successfully ran Grant’s Plumbing Service for over 40 years. He later decided to get into the building business as C&G Builders and successfully built over 20 homes.

He finally was able to retire and enjoy the life he had so rightly earned. He loved boating, fishing, skiing, and spent several years in the Civil War reenactment. He served humbly at his church, was a deacon for many years, and was often heard singing praise worship while digging a ditch or carving bricks for the memory garden he helped start. He served his community as a part of the OFM with his sidekicks Phil Graham and Ken Nodland. Grant participated in Joshua's Men, did the walk to Emmaus, volunteered at Lake Aurora Christian Camp, participated in Promise Keepers, whatever he could to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

He would often say his greatest accomplishment was praising the Lord in Haiti while sitting on the ground under the banana tree. He said he never felt closer to God than at that moment. He also traveled to Santa Domingo, Honduras on missions. He also traveled to Arizona to visit an Indian Reservation as a mission building project. He also was seen around town painting fences for families in need, serving to feed the homeless, building shelving units, and painting inside Pregnancy Careline.
He will meet in heaven his beloved brothers Mike and Ricky and beloved son Kevin.

Grant will be laid to rest at Venice Memorial Gardens in Venice, FL In lieu of flowers, a donation to missions at New Day Christian Church in honor of him would be a blessing.