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Obituaries

Navy Man, Dearborn Resident Grant Rollet, 22, dies in CA Car Crash

Visitation for Grant Mitchell Rollet, a sailor in the Navy and Dearborn resident, will be held Friday, with a funeral mass service Saturday.

U.S. Navy sailor and Dearborn resident Grant Mitchell Rollet died July 1 of injuries sustained from a traffic accident in Lemoore, Calif., where he was serving at the Naval Air Station. He was 22.

According to the Handford Sentinel, the California Highway Patrol is investigation the crash that led to the death of Rollet and Lance Cpl. Benjamin Brittingham, 25.

The Sentinel reports that the Lexus two men were riding in crashed into a semi-truck on Highway 41 near Lemoore, causing the car to veer into the highway divider. Both men were found dead at the scene.

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Formerly a resident of South Rockwood, Mich., Rollet and his parents moved to Dearborn in 2007 after Rollet—the youngest of three children—graduated from Airport High School.

Rollet attended Ferris State University before volunteering in the Navy starting in the summer of 2009. He officially enlisted later that year, attending the Naval Aviation School at the Naval Aviation Technical Training Center in Pensacola, Fla.

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Upon graduation, Rollet entered the F/A-18 pipeline of instruction. He was then assigned to the VFA-137 located at the Naval Air Station in Lemoore, Calif.

Rollet spent a fair amount of time abroad, including serving on the USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

His earned and awarded decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, the Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist device and the United States Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

To family and friends, however, Grant was just a great guy with an infectious smile, said his brother, Ray Rollet.

"Grant was always smiling and he was always optimistic," Ray said of his little brother. "When he entered a room, he always commanded attention. It's just the way that he was. He was a big jokester. Everyone loved being around him.

"He was also a very caring person–the little things were important to him."

Grant Rollet was also an avid runner, and was on the track and cross country teams all four years of high school, as well as the cross country team at Ferris State.

Grant is survived by his parents, Raymond and Cheryl Rollet of Dearborn, formerly of South Rockwood, brother Raymond (Marianne) and sister Emily.

Visitation will be held 2-9 p.m. Friday, July 8, at the Dearborn Chapel of the , 22546 Michigan Ave. Funeral Mass will be held Saturday, July 9, at 10:30 am at St. Sebastian Catholic Church in Dearborn Heights.

A burial ceremony with military honors will be held directly after the mass at Michigan Memorial Park Cemetery, 32163 Huron River Drive, in Flat Rock. The family has asked that members of the community wishing to pay their respects do so at the burial ceremony.

For more information, contact Howe-Peterson Funeral Home.

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