Family honors fallen loved one with new scholarship

Date: 1/27/2009

By Katelyn Gendron

Reminder Assistant Editor



WESTFIELD The Trant Family does not wish for their loved one to be remembered by his tragic death in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. They wish for Dan to be remembered for his dedication to the Westfield community and the strength of his character.

This June, the Dan Trant Scholarship Fund will award the Moseley School Scholarship, the fund's newest memorial scholarship to benefit the city's graduating seniors. The Dan Trant Scholarship Fund was founded in 2003 with the annual Dan Trant Scholarship, given to a student-athlete at Westfield High School.

Matthew Trant, Dan's brother and president of the Dan Trant Scholarship Fund, noted that this new scholarship will be given to a senior at any of the city's three high schools who attended Moseley Elementary School and plans to attend an institute of higher education.

"We want people to remember his life, not just as a person associated with [the 9-11] tragedy," Matthew said of his brother. "He was a wonderful guy, full of life and tremendously talented and that seems to be the hallmark of most of the people who were killed in the World Trade Center. They were brought [to the World Trade Center] because those skills lent themselves to those [financial] industries."

Matthew explained that his brother's elementary education was a significant part of his childhood.

"Not only did he attend kindergarten through fifth grade there, but he spent much of his youth playing wiffle ball, street hockey and other sports within its comfortable confines," he said. "In fact, he learned to play basketball on Moseley School's court, and later became an All-American who was drafted by the Boston Celtics. Dan would be very pleased and proud to know that he is being remembered in this way."

Dan was drafted by the Celtics in 1984 and went on to play professional basketball in Ireland, Springfield and Miami in the United States Basketball League. Matthew noted that his brother's dedication to athleticism is what inspired the fund's first scholarship.

After his career in professional sports, Dan went on to work for Cantor Fitzgerald as a bond trader in New York City. Matt explained that no matter how far his brother moved from Westfield he always remembered his roots.

"Dan loved Westfield and he especially loved Moseley School," Mary Trant, Dan's mother and chair of the Dan Trant Scholarship Fund, said. "This scholarship is our way of paying further tribute to the memory of a wonderful, wonderful person who was taken from us well before his time. Many people have been contributing so generously to the Dan Trant Scholarship Fund since it was created five years ago, and that generosity has made this second scholarship possible."

Matt noted that his brother dedicated much of his time to mentoring youth through athletics and had a strong commitment to community service.

"We want to put out as much money [through scholarships] for kids in need [in Westfield] as we can," he said. "We wanted to give back to a community that has given so much to us."

Donations to the Dan Trant Scholarship Fund, a 501 (3) non-profit, can be mailed to P.O. Box 2233, Westfield, MA 01086.