WWII Veteran:Wanderer dies and leaves behind a wonder: $263,000

Wanderer dies and leaves behind a wonder: $263,000
Officials in Iowa try to piece together the transient's story
By Steve Schmadeke | Chicago Tribune reporter
October 17, 2008
For years after he retired from a Chicago-area foundry, master mechanic John R. Grant traveled in his white Ford cargo van, spending time in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and the Chicago suburbs.

His last stop came in late March when Grant, 82, died of lung cancer in a motel in Sheldon, Iowa, a town of about 5,000.

The former Calumet City resident, whom police described as a transient, surprised everyone with what he left behind in Room 20: $263,000 in small bills inside a vinyl cassette-tape case.

"It was quite a big deal around here for a while," said Capt. Jamison Van Voorst of the Sioux County Sheriff's Office. The news only recently spread beyond the town.


The county attorney's office hired lawyer Thomas Worley to search for an heir when it was determined Grant left no will.

"It was his life savings, all in $5, $10, $20 and $50s, mostly. We had a lot of counting to do," Worley said.

Working from military discharge papers and other personal artifacts in his motel room and van, police determined he was a World War II veteran who spent at least 20 years working for Blaw-Knox foundry in the Chicago area. He was buried with military honors at the Iowa National Cemetery in Keokuk.

Police tracked down a brother in Japan and cousin in the Chicago suburbs. But the rightful heir—Sarah Snyder, 27—eventually was found in Winter Garden, Fla.
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