Grant Mitchell Reynolds

Grant Mitchell Reynolds, 32, died unexpectedly in his sleep on September 30, 2024. Born June 25, 1992, the beloved son of Mike and Elizabeth Reynolds and “little” brother of Jay Reynolds, two lifelong best friends. Their early relationship was filled with love and squabbles, such as the time Grant famously used a kitten as an improvised weapon to decisively win a fight. In time the scuffling, wrestling, and skirmishes shifted to an expression of their shared love that continued till the end.

 Grant grew up with a love of water, excelling on summer swim teams from the age of four through high school, and terrorized his friends with his swimming prowess in any body of water in East Tennessee. He was an avid reader, a lover of myths and fantasy, ever intrigued by the weird and bizarre. Always a large lovable rascal, he was mischievous and excelled in causing a bit of chaos amongst those close to him—from one of his favorite pastimes, “lying for fun,” to arguing just for the sake of causing frustration—with a gleam in his eye as he misled or infuriated you. He had an extraordinary memory and even after 32 years his older brother was often tricked into believing random “facts” and stories Grant fed him, unable to determine fiction from Grant’s encyclopedic knowledge.

 When Grant was 10 years old, the Reynolds family moved from Knoxville to Maryville, where he collected a lifelong group of friends—including Molly, Will, Josh, Ben and Jack—who became part of his found family: a gang of “cool” nerds who hung out and got into various harmless hijinks. Throughout high school Grant was an honor student, played varsity basketball, and graduated in 2010 with over a semester’s worth of college credit. He was voted Most Unique by his senior class; everyone who met him agreed he was one of a kind.

 Trying to get as far from home as possible while still qualifying for in-state tuition, Grant attended the University of Memphis with a full academic scholarship. He graduated Summa Cum Laude, and his double major in Philosophy and Political Science only enhanced his penchant for argument. He spent two semesters abroad taking classes in Germany and the Czech Republic, and traveled to numerous other Eastern European countries. He seized this opportunity to fluster his mother with cryptic emails such as: “I’ve made friends with a nice anarchist commune living in a dilapidated factory,” or “I’ve been spending the night alone in some abandoned Roman ruins,” or “don’t worry about me hitchhiking alone, I have a shank.” We’ll let the reader decide what was fact and what was fiction.

 Continuing his adventures ever farther from home, Grant attended Gonzaga Law School in Spokane, Washington, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and passed the Multi-state Bar Exam in the top 10% nationally. To the joy of friends and family, he returned to East Tennessee where he worked at a Knoxville law firm.

A vegetarian, Grant was a masterful and creative force in the kitchen and it was always such a treat to enjoy his delicious dishes. His kitchen contained a plethora of spices and unique cookware and culinary experiments. An animal lover, Grant went almost everywhere with his dog Pyg (for Pygmalion). On Sunday nights he cooked her meals for the week from scratch, eliciting many jokes that the food Grant made for Pyg was better than the meals Jay made for himself. 

Grant was just as, if not more, mischievous and chaotic in multiple years-long campaigns of Dungeons and Dragons. Hosting the weekly game himself or meeting at friends’ homes he was the special spice in the game, and kept everyone on their toes as to what his character would do next. He exercised religiously at the gym and, just like his mother, he was ecstatic at finding a bargain in thrift stores and discount aisles. 

 Grant was a complex, stubborn, witty, intelligent, beautiful, strong, kind, and wonderful person. Losing him devastates and breaks the hearts of all who loved him. He will always be loved and sorely missed.

 A celebration of Grant’s life will be held at The Life Event Center, 1404 Tuckaleechee Pike, Maryville on Saturday November 2 at 12:00 PM. Please come to share and listen to stories as we try to reminisce and rejoice in what made Grant, Grant. Those wishing to, may give memorial donations to local animal shelters or Friends of the Smokies. Smith Funeral and Cremation Service, Maryville, 865-983-1000, www.SmithFuneralandCremation.com.