Grant G. Arment

I did not grow up in Norfolk, so I did not have Grant as a teacher, I met him some time after I had moved to Norfolk, He always had a smile and friendly greeting when I would see him in the community. All of you are in our thoughts and prayers.

I graduated from NHS way back in 1974. I was mostly interested in the arts and tried to avoid math classes as much as possible due to the anxiety I felt about them. But there are basic requirements to be met, so I landed in Mr. Arment's geometry class in my sophomore year. Even though it was the only class I ever took from him, it was enough to make him one of my two favorite teachers from my K-12 years. Even now at age 65, I feel the need to call him "Mr. Arment" because of the deep sense of appreciation and respect I feel for him to this day.

Even though I hated math, I loved Mr. Arment and, to my great shock, somehow earned an "A" in his class. He somehow managed to capture my imagination with the beauty of spacial relationships and the elegance of the corresponding equations.

His approach to teaching was wildly different from any other teacher. No busy work. Learn and understand the concepts. Be able to demonstrate your understanding by doing the work. It worked for me then and has served me ever since.

My path crossed with Mr. Arment once at a men's breakfast event. I think it was in the late 80s. I approached him and said, "I'm not sure if you remember me, but..." He interrupted with, "Dave, how are you doing?" I was so surprised. I went on to say how much I appreciated him as a high school teacher. I said, "I wasn't a very good student in high school, but I sure did enjoy your class." He smiled and said, "Oh no, Dave, you were always a blue chipper." That's when I realized that the thing that really made him different from almost every other teacher was that he had seen me as a person and had believed in my potential. No wonder it was one of the only classes I managed to enjoy and found it possible to achieve.

God bless you, Grant Arment! Thank you, again, for your impact upon so many of us during our formative years. I'm grateful.

Mr. Arment was a wonderful teacher, leader, and mentor. I was one of his students. Yes, we learned about mathematics. But he also showed us how to properly carry ourselves in our lives. He had several sayings in class that many of us termed "Armentisms." A few of them I have never forgotten and have even used a few myself! "There is more than one way to Hadar." "I'll be there in two shakes of a lamb's tail." He was also a man of faith. Praying for Carol and the family. He will be missed!

so sorry for your loss. Grant was a special person. He will be missed by many. God bless you all.