Dorlethia Grant was born on May 1, 1937, to Paul and Luversia Choate. She was raised in
Shelby, North Carolina with her older sister, Doris and younger brother, John (Sonny). In
the 1950's Paul decided to move his family to Buffalo, NY where Dorlethia would meet her
husband, raise her children and leave a legacy of love across generations of families.
Known as Mom, Mama, Lethia or Lisa Girl, Dorlethia loved taking care of people. She had
many jobs throughout her life, and they all had one thing in common, they focused on caring
for others. At one of her jobs she befriended Desiree, who liked her so much she introduced
her to her son, Clifton. They met, fell in love, got married and created a family of their
own. Together, they raised their two sons and provided love and support for a host of
special nieces, nephews, God-children and friends.
After caring for her mother-in-law and her parents through their illnesses, she became a
professional caregiver and provided in-home care for Aida and Julie, two women who were
unable to live independently. This all led to her longest lasting career legacy, the opening of
Rumper Room Daycare with the help of her good friend Eileen/Lee-Lee. For over 20-years,
Mom touched the lives of hundreds of families in very special ways. At Rumper Room, she
not only cared for children, but she mentored parents, supported grand-parents, and created
loving connections across her entire community.
Dorlethia gave her life to Christ early. She loved the Lord and had a special relationship
with Him. She not only attended Sunday School and Church every week, she invited every-
one she knew; she would even give you a ride if you needed one. Much of her service in the
church happened at Evangelistic Temple (COGIC), "701 Broadway" as she called it. This
is where she introduced her grandchildren to God's Word, taught them how to pray and
showed them what faith looked like. Lethia was feisty, loving, and energetic. She always did
things her way. She loved hard and never met a stranger. You were her Friend whether you
worked at the post office, the cable company or lived next door to her.
Above all, Dorlethia's family was the center of her universe, especially her grand babies.
Every year during Easter, she would take her entire family to Shelby, North Carolina to
ensure her grandchildren, nieces and nephews knew where she and her sister came from
and the love that made her who she was. These annual trips became a long-standing
tradition and created valuable riemories that her grandchildren will always hold dear.
Dorlethia leaves her legacy to live on through her loving and devoted husband, Clifton
Grant; their two sons: Donald E. Grant Sr., and Steven Q. (Kathy) Grant; her special niece:
Paula (Charles) Barber and great-nephew: Antoine (Christel) Brown. She also leaves her
five grandchildren, who she was always very protective over, Donald E. (Erika) Grant, Jr.,
Viola-Latia M. (Chris) Joyce, Quinton L. Grant, Shawn B. (Shawntae) Grant and Dominic
E. Grant. Everyone knew not to MESS WITH DORLETHIA'S GRANDKIDS. This spilled
over to her Great Grand Babies: Jeriah, Saniah, Amariah, Princeton and Londyn. Dorlethia
was preceded in death by two very special nephews: Gary Brown and Wayne Brown.
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