- Date Of Birth: December 7, 1935
- Date Of Death: February 4, 2022
- State: Florida
Mary Loretta Cook Brant, 86, of Crestview, FL died February 4, 2022.
Mary Loretta Cook Brant, 86, of Crestview, Florida died peacefully on February 4, 2022, surrounded by loved ones. She is preceded in death by her parents John Hutson and Cherri Lucille Cook of Milligan, Florida and her sister, Barbara Rogers of Bryan, Texas.
Loretta is survived by her beloved husband of 66 years, Hoyt Mitchell Brant, Jr., four children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandsons. Her children are son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Beth Brant; daughter, Viki Brant; daughter and son-in-law, James and Michelle (Brant) Adams; and, son and daughter-in-law, Marcus and Amy Brant. Grandchildren are Drew and Mary Catherine Brant, Cody and Alicia (Adams) Chunn; James and Kinga Adams; Christopher Brant; Nicholas Adams and fiancé, Emily Stewart; Anna Adams; and Emma Brant. Great-grandsons are, Elijah, Owen, and Locklan Chunn.
Loretta was born in Plant City, Florida on December 7, 1935. She grew up most of her years in Columbus, Ga and spent a short time in Crestview, Florida as a young child. In high school in Columbus, Georgia, she met her sweetheart, Mitchell, in Latin and band classes. After graduating high school a year early, she moved on to Auburn Polytech Institute, now Auburn University, where she developed a passion for all things Auburn. Loretta remained devoted to her Tigers throughout her life and after graduating from the Plains a semester early with a double major in Elementary Education and English, she married her sweetheart on December 27, 1955, and immediately began her teaching career in San Antonio, Texas and later settled in Crestview. Loretta dedicated almost four decades of her life to her students as she strove to instill a love of learning to all. Her students will remember her most for winning field days and for “holding books.”
