Art and Suiko Grant: A decades-long love story ends in the Tubbs Fire

Suiko and Art Grant died together in the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, their daughter Trina Grant said. Suiko and Art Grant died together in the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, their daughter Trina Grant said. Photo: Courtesy Trina Grant Photo: Courtesy Trina Grant Image 1 of / 33 Caption Close Art and Suiko Grant: A decades-long love story ends in the Tubbs Fire 1 / 33 Back to Gallery

When the Tubbs Fire reached the hilltop property of Art and Suiko Grant in Santa Rosa, the couple gathered their small pet dog and took refuge in the wine cellar of their home of more than 45 years.

This is where they died together last Monday, according to their daughter Trina Grant. He was 95 and she was 75. Mr. Grant was a retired captain with Pan American World Airways who had met his Japanese-born wife in Honolulu while working for the airline.

“It was a true love-at-first-sight story,” said Trina Grant, by Facebook Messenger. “He found the most beautiful gal in the world to marry.”

Arthur Tasman Grant grew up in Point Arena, one of 13 kids on a dairy farm. In high school, he was an accomplished member of the Future Farmers of America and was awarded a state prize for his Guernsey cows.

After briefly attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on a scholarship, he enrolled in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Trained as a fighter pilot, he flew both the Hellcat and Corsair jets, but the war ended before he was able to fly in combat. He retired as a Navy lieutenant then flew with Pan Am for 25 years.

Suiko Grant was born in China and raised in Sapporo, Japan. After graduating from Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo, she went to work for a Japanese company in Hawaii, and her roommate was dating a pilot. The pilot was Mr. Grant, and Suiko “stole his heart,” said their daughter.

Their property on Riebli Road was filled with fruit trees and a hobby vineyard. Earlier this month, Trina Grant picked a Meyer lemon from one of her parents’ trees. “It is now the only remaining part of their beautiful property,” she said.

The couple is survived by their daughters, Tasman Grant of San Francisco and Trina Grant of Denver; their granddaughter, Sloane; and Mr. Grant’s sister, Agnes.

A memorial “Grant Paddle Out” will be held in their honor Oct. 27 at Tourmaline Surfing Park in San Diego.

Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Twitter: SamWhitingSF