Sylvia Jean Harant

Sylvia Jean Harant passed away calmly on December 14, 2024, at Peace Hospice with her family nearby. Sylvia had known that this moment was coming, and she approached it the way she approached life: with prayer and boundless confidence in Jesus Christ. If you spoke with her during her final months, she would have told you, "I'm in pretty good shape for the shape I'm in" and ended the conversation with a song in her voice and a twinkle in her eye, "Remember, Jesus loves you." She never stopped loving our Lord or those he had entrusted to her care. She always had a fresh love for Chuck, her high school sweetheart and husband of 61 years and indomitable pride in the accomplishments of her daughters Sarah, Jenny, and Dawn.

Sylvia had a unique talent for drawing crowds together. Her lifelong friend Jerry Maffit called her 'Let's have a party Sylvia' a well-deserved title. Her home bustled with activity - from prayer meetings to praise and worship sessions - the space overflowed with pleasant chatter and laughter from her family and friends. She kept up pen-pal correspondence with people near and far from Virginia to Ecuador, and she touched lives we'll never know by encouraging them to seek Christ.

Her great joy in life was to sing and write gospel music, and she taught herself to play piano as a child. She shared her marvelous talent with people near and far. During her life, she recorded music with friends and her daughter Dawn, she led multiple church choirs, led prison music ministries, and brought cheer to nursing home residents with her band, "The Swinging Seniors." In 2016 she, and the rest of her family, were shocked but not surprised when Sylvia received an unexpected royalty check from a radio station in Japan playing her gospel music. In 2019 she finished writing a small catechetical anthology that included the music she wrote as meditations.
She loved to write and wrote down her meditations and interpretations. When offering writing advice, Sylvia would tell you to write like her daughter Sarah: read the newspaper, copy the articles, and perfect your writing style. Every morning, she looked forward to a phone call from her daughter Jenny and they loved to discuss current events, health trends, and plans for the gardens. As Sylvia's health declined, her daughters and grandchildren rallied to her side to offer her support as she approached the summit of her life.

Sylvia was born to Tex and Olive Ezell in Conrad, MT on July 29, 1944, the first of four children: Mary, Billy, and Tammy. Growing up, her family moved to Belt before coming to Great Falls where she met Charles Terry Harant at Mitchell Pool in 1959. They married on February 16, 1963. Soon after they welcomed Sarah, then Jenny and Dawn. Sylvia quickly schooled her daughters into a life of love and service by sharing her work in special education with them. Many people flocked to her home for comfort and words of wisdom. Sylvia was feisty and had a strong sense of spiritual realities and would not allow her moral compass to become cloudy. She'd let you know if you had strayed from the path, but she always did so with love and never condemnation. One wondered how she was able to keep up boundless prayers and communications the way she did, and if you asked her, she'd say it was not her, but God.

If you're reading this, she'd ask you to pray a rosary on her behalf and to always remember: JESUS LOVES YOU!!

Sylvia is survived by Charles Harant, her husband of 61 years and daughters Sarah (Rory) Peck, Jenny (Mark) Grasseschi, Dawn (David) Bushard all of Black Eagle. Grandchildren: Matthew (Sabra) Peck, Nicole (Scott) Maciel, Stephen Peck, Molly (Taylor) Reese, Hannah McEntee, Meghan (Stephen) Horn, Patrick Chapman, Andrew Chapman, Luke McEntee, Brenna (Jeff) Adkins, Baylee Bushard, Julia Bushard and Sophia Bushard. Great-grandchildren: Halen Gluekert, Tyson Maciel, Victoria Maciel, Alice Peck, Gabriel Peck, Charlotte Peck, Cooper Adkins, Lucia Horn, Zoey Adkins, Samuel Horn, Rayne Reese, Rowan Reese, and Joseph Horn.

She was preceded in death by her parents: Marion (Tex) Ezell and Olive Ezell. Sisters Mary Taylor and Tammy Ezell. Brother: William Ezell, mother-in-law Zora Harant Napjus and many extended family members. |

A vigil will take place on Wednesday December 18, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. with the funeral liturgy on Thursday, December 19, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. both at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

Please send donations to Catholic Schools of Great Falls 1305 5th Avenue South, Great Falls, MT 59405 and St. Michael Catholic Radio PO Box 6116 Great Falls, MT 59406.