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Line 33: − + − − Fant was affiliated with the NLU Booster Club and Alumni Center, the Monroe [[Chamber of Commerce]], the Bayou Desiard Optimist Club, the National and Louisiana Basketball Coaches associations, the Masonic lodge, and the Shriners.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url= http://www.bayou.com/~suelynn/obituaries/lofobit.html|title=Lenny O’Neil Fant|publisher=bayou.com|accessdate=January 4, 2009}}</ref> + +
→Northeast Louisiana University
Benny Jesse Hollis (born 1938) first met Fant in 1956 and played on his first team and ultimately became his assistant coach. Hollis recalled that Fant "made everyone he met feel like they [sic] were his best friend." Hollis was succeeded as head coach in 1981 by Mike Vining but continued as athletic director until 1993. Vining played for Fant in the middle 1960s: "We weren't just playing for pride. We were playing so Coach Fant wouldn't lose. He had that kind of impact on us. He was our friend and our coach. It's something that not many people in this profession can do."<ref name=mns/>
Benny Jesse Hollis (born 1938) first met Fant in 1956 and played on his first team and ultimately became his assistant coach. Hollis recalled that Fant "made everyone he met feel like they [sic] were his best friend." Hollis was succeeded as head coach in 1981 by Mike Vining but continued as athletic director until 1993. Vining played for Fant in the middle 1960s: "We weren't just playing for pride. We were playing so Coach Fant wouldn't lose. He had that kind of impact on us. He was our friend and our coach. It's something that not many people in this profession can do."<ref name=mns/>
==Death and legacy==
==Death and legacy==
Fant was affiliated with the NLU Booster Club and Alumni Center, the Monroe [[Chamber of Commerce]], the Bayou Desiard Optimist Club, the National and Louisiana Basketball Coaches associations, the Masonic lodge, and the Shriners.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url= http://www.bayou.com/~suelynn/obituaries/lofobit.html|title=Lenny O’Neil Fant|publisher=bayou.com|accessdate=January 4, 2009}}</ref>
He died two weeks before what would have been his seventy-fifth birthday after an eighteen-month battle with [[colon cancer]]. He was preceded in death by his wife, the former Jo Hethcox. Survivors included his son, Lynn Fant (1951–2012), a native of Talladega, [[Alabama]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thenewsstar/obituary.aspx?n=lynn-fant&pid=157954686&fhid=12527|title=Obituary of Lynn Fant|publisher=''The Monroe News-Star''|accessdate=June 8, 2012}}</ref> daughter Wanda Fant Smith and husband, Vance; grandchildren, Brandon Cruse; Janna Smith; Bo Smith; and Shawna Smith Grant, all then of West Monroe, and a brother: J. D. Fant of [[Memphis]], [[Tennessee]].<ref name=obit/>
He died two weeks before what would have been his seventy-fifth birthday after an eighteen-month battle with [[colon cancer]]. He was preceded in death by his wife, the former Jo Hethcox. Survivors included his son, Lynn Fant (1951–2012), a native of Talladega, [[Alabama]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thenewsstar/obituary.aspx?n=lynn-fant&pid=157954686&fhid=12527|title=Obituary of Lynn Fant|publisher=''The Monroe News-Star''|accessdate=June 8, 2012}}</ref> daughter Wanda Fant Smith and husband, Vance; grandchildren, Brandon Cruse; Janna Smith; Bo Smith; and Shawna Smith Grant, all then of West Monroe, and a brother: J. D. Fant of [[Memphis]], [[Tennessee]].<ref name=obit/>