Andrew Gantt

Andrew Gantt of Wingina passed away peacefully at his home, Rock Cliff, in the early morning hours of February 12; he was just shy of his 90th birthday, having been born on March 11, 1936, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Dr. Horsley Gantt and Mary Richardson Gantt.

After graduating from the Gilman School in Baltimore, he got his degree in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University. Andrew served three years in the U.S. Navy, and earned a Master’s and Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University.

He spent most of his professional career working for the International Monetary Fund, both full-time and later as a consultant. He was the IMF representative in Peru, Botswana, Antigua, and Austria.

In 1987 he and his family moved to Rock Cliff, which he considered his soul place as it had been in the family for generations. There he raised beef cattle and loblolly pines.

Andrew had verve! He didn’t just take up racing automobiles, he competed at Daytona with his then teenage children, Serrin and Dru, in his pit crew. He didn’t just sail, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean five times in a 37’ sailboat, several with his wife, Digna, and youngest daughter, Rebecca, as crew. He climbed to the base camp of Mount Everest and ran six marathons. He traveled widely, visiting 77 countries. Wherever he found himself, from Rock Cliff to Azerbaijan, he was a keen observer of local customs and a terrific storyteller.

Andrew was a steward of the environment, placing part of Rock Cliff in a conservation easement, and serving on the boards of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District. He was pleased with his many accomplishments, but he was most proud of his children.

Andrew married Jeanne Dessez in 1959, and they had two children, a daughter and a son. That marriage ended in a divorce, and in 1979 he married Digna Mansveld. They had one daughter.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 46 years, Digna Gantt; his three children: Serrin Gantt of Gaithersburg, Maryland; Dru Gantt (Beth) of Baltimore, Maryland; and Rebecca Gantt (Zoah Scheneman) of Norfolk, Virginia; five grandchildren and one step granddaughter; his sister Emily (Perky) Gantt Kahn of Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts, and nieces, Lisa Birk and Xandria Birk.

Services will be held at Trinity Church in Arrington Virginia on March 7th at 1:00 pm with a reception to follow at the church.

Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Planned Parenthood.

Arrangements by Wells/Sheffield Funeral Chapel, Lovingston (434-263-4097).