William ‘Bill’ Henry Gantt

illiam “Bill” Henry Gantt died in the hospital on December 30, 2024, surrounded by his loved ones, whom he kept laughing until the very end.

Bill was born October 1, 1948, in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and grew up nearby on his family’s dairy farm. His parents, Janesa Horner Gantt and Frederick H. Gantt, raised him to be a hard worker, a habit he refused to break even a few months before his death, climbing up and down ladders to maintain his beloved Victorian home and tending to his flower gardens. Among his West Virginia kin, his parents and his brothers Frederick D. Gantt and Silven Gantt preceded him in death, and he is survived by his brother Michael Gantt and his sister Alisa Emmons.

He graduated from Hedgesville High School and Shepherd College with a degree in business. After graduating college in 1970, he accepted a job at Pomeroy’s Department Store and moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Bill loved and supported his wife Deb in completing her bachelor’s degree and was proud of her involve-ment in feminist organiza-tions in the 1980s and her career as a social worker. In later years, he did his best to care for her after she had a serious health setback. He often told his son Julian M. Gantt that he loved him more than anything in this world, and he could barely contain his pride in his son’s accomplishments. This extended to his son’s partner, Hamza Zafer, whom he affectionately referred to as his “other son.” He cherished the unconven-tional family he and Deb built together over five decades with their dear friends Barbara Humes and Phillip Braxton. He is survived by all of them, who already miss his enormous presence terribly.

Bill devoted much of his life to advocating for Allison Hill, where he lived for 54 years. He restored four houses on the Hill, cofounded the South Allison Hill Civic Association, led the effort to create the Allison Hill Municipal Historic District, and served as a member of Harrisburg’s Architectural Review Board. He took immense pride in planting flowers every summer in the turn-of-the-century watering trough at the intersection of Mulberry and Derry Streets.

In 1988, he opened Gantt’s Decorating. For more than 30 years, he designed, fabricated, and installed countless window treat-ments for his clients, reveled in creating dynamic Christmas show window displays, and spent hours repairing and refinishing antique sculptures, light fixtures, and furniture.

Bill will be greatly missed by the many people whose lives he touched with his creativity, humor, and passion for justice.

One of his final wishes was that his much-loved watering trough continue to be planted and maintained as a source of beauty for the neighborhood. In lieu of flowers, Bill’s family requests donations to establish a fund for this purpose in his memory: https://everloved.com/life-of/william-gantt/.

A memorial service celebrating his life was held on Saturday, January 11, 2025, at noon at the John Harris-Simon Cameron Mansion, 219 South Front Street, Harrisburg.