After fatal crash, ‘unofficial songbird of Bluffton’ remembered by those she served

Pressana Grant will be remembered for her beautiful singing voice, but mostly for what she did with it — lift up those around her.

“She was known to be an area angel in the sense of singing,” Bridgette Frazier, a longtime friend of Grant, said Thursday morning. “If someone wanted her to sing at a funeral or wedding, she would sing and she never charged people to do that. She would take off work even if she had to. ... She was the unofficial songbird of Bluffton.”

Grant, 61, of Bluffton, the victim of a single-vehicle Wednesday afternoon crash on Bluffton Parkway near Burnt Church Road, was known for her service and faith.

A member of St. James Baptist Church on Hilton Head Island, Grant was an associate pastor and active member of the choir, according Frazier, who has known Grant since 1995 when they were neighbors.

Grant was a single mother of three and grandmother to six, Frazier said. Grant founded the Hilton Head High School gospel choir and Frazier was a member. The students would often pray with Grant before singing, Frazier said.

“If someone was going through something, (Grant) would give them a personal prayer and uplift them,” Frazier said.

The choir reunited three years ago for a concert and had plans to do so again in December. The event was something Grant was very excited about, Frazier said.

Grant was driving a 2004 Cadillac west in the eastbound lanes of Bluffton Parkway when the vehicle ran off the roadway, struck a tree and caught fire just before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol. She died at the scene.

The wreck closed all eastbound and westbound lanes of Bluffton Parkway between Bluffton Road and Burnt Church Road for just over two hours.

“Missionary was a big part of who she was,” Frazier said. “She would go into nursing homes and seeing someone when they were down and being able to administer to them.”

According to an interview Grant did with Pink Magazine, her favorite hymns were “Through It All” and “I Love You Today.”

“Someday I want to do a recording, a collection of old hymns,” Grant said in the interview. “I want to distribute it to the community and anyone who needs encouragement. Most importantly, I want to be remembered for my ministry to others in the Lord.”

This story was originally published November 2, 2017 at 10:23 AM with the headline "After fatal crash, ‘unofficial songbird of Bluffton’ remembered by those she served."