Allen and Dahl Funeral Chapel

Photo: Andreas Fuhrmann/Record Searchlight)Buy PhotoArt Wynant, a founding member of a local Pearl Harbor survivors association and who served as its original president, died Monday at his Redding home. He was 96. "He was remarkable," Wynant's daughter, Mary Anne Wynant, said Friday. "He's the best person I have ever known. He was really well loved."At its peak, there were more than 90 members of the now-disbanded Shasta County Pearl Harbor Survivors, but Wynant and Mel Fisher of Jones Valley were the last two known members left.Fisher, however, moved about six months ago from Shasta County to Southern California.Wynant, a Redding resident since 1954, was a 20-year-old quartermaster on the USS Medusa docked at Pearl City when the Japanese launched their surprise attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941."It was scary," Wynant said in a 2012 Record Searchlight interview. "We knew we were at war."The Medusa, a fleet repair and transport ship, wasn't hit in the attack, but Wynant said four or five enemy torpedoes barely missed their target when they zipped underneath his ship.The Medusa’s anti-aircraft machine gunners are credited with shooting down two Japanese dive bombers during the surprise attack, and the ship also fired upon a midget submarine sighted in the harbor.Following the attack, Wynant and other shipmates took a launch out into the oily and burning waters of the harbor picking up the bodies of those sailors who were killed.The Japanese attack sank 18 American ships, destroyed 188 planes and killed more than 2,400 Americans.A Grants Pass, Oregon, native, Wynant grew up in the tiny Siskiyou County town of Tennant and joined the U.S. Navy only a few months after graduating from Tennant High School in 1939. His graduating class numbered three.Wynant spent six years in the Navy, then worked several jobs in the Susanville area after the war, including stints as a firefighter and sheriff's deputy. He went to work for the state Department of Transportation in 1953, performing surveying and highway engineering work before r... (Redding Record Searchlight)

Make submissions for consideration via email. You must include a phone number and/or web address for publication. ArtCleveland Museum of Art: 11150 East Blvd., presents “Opulent Fashion in the Church,” through Sept. 24; “Reeds and Geese: Japanese Art From the Collection of George Gund III,” through Sept. 3; “Chaekgeori: Pleasure of Possessions in Korean Painted Screens,” through Nov. 5; “Gods and Heroes: Ancient Legends in Renaissance Art,” Aug. 26 through Dec. 31. Call 216-421-7340 or visit www.clevelandart.org.Lakeland Community College: 7700 Clocktower Drive, Kirtland, presents “Euclid Art Association Summer Fine Art Show,” through Sept. 8. Call 440-525-7029 or visit www.lakelandcc.edu/gallery.Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland: 11400 Euclid Ave., presents its summer exhibitions, “Constant Is the Sun,” My American Dream,” featuring the work of Keith Mayerson, and “Lu Yang: Delusional Mandala,” through Sept. 17; BOUND: Art Book + Zine Fair, noon to p.m. Sept. 9. Call 216-421-8671 or visit mocacleveland.org.AdvertisementStocker Arts Center at Lorain County Community College: 1005 N. Abbe Road, Elyria, presents Art Faculty Fine Art Exhibit, Aug. 28 through Sept. 22 in the Beth K. Stocker Art Gallery. Call 440-366-4040 or visit www.StockerArtsCenter.com.Ursuline College Florence O’Donnell Wasmer Gallery: 2550 Lander Road, Pepper Pike, presents “Eastern Edge: A Juried Art Exhibition,” Aug. 18 through Oct. 6 (opening reception 5 to 8 p.m. Aug. 18). Call 440-646-8121.Valley Art Center: 155 Bell St., Chagrin Falls, presents “Fin, Fur & Feather,” Sept. 1 through Oct. 11 (opening reception 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 1). Call 440-247-7507 or visit www.valleyartcenter.org.AuditionsCleveland POPS Orchestra Chorus: will hold auditions for the 2017-18 season, by appointment 4 to 7 p.m. Aug. 23 in room G-17 of the Music and Communications Building, Cleveland State University, downtown campus. Call 216-765-7677 or email glpetitt@clevelandpops.com.Comedy ?Cleveland Improv: 1148 Main Ave., Cleveland, presents John Witherspoon, Aug. 1... (News-Herald.com)