Linda Carol Grimes, 81, our beautiful and loving wife, mother and friend passed peacefully Feb. 11, 2021. Our beloved “Grammi’” brought energy, love and joy to all those she met. She was born on Sept. 21, 1939, as a true coal miner's daughter in the hills of West Virginia. Her intelligence, beauty and charm became apparent early on as she held positions at the State of West Virginia State House and won the Miss West Virginia Teen Queen contest. She then transitioned into a national modeling career which included many national advertising campaigns and the cover of TV Guide.
In 1961, she met the love of her life, her husband John and they started a 59 year marriage and romance filled with love, respect and laughter. After brief stops in Cincinnati, Des Moines and Birmingham, Michigan, John and Carol moved their family to the Valley of the Sun in 1968. After settling in Arcadia, she supported and raised a family, including two boys, John Jr. and Michael (fondly known as Rooney) while continuing to be active in banking and starting the first relocation service for Russ Lyon Realty.
She was very active in all sports and was an avid tennis player at Arizona Country Club and Gainey Ranch. Later in life she took up golf and had two holes-in-one over a period of three years while in her 70s. She loved vacationing during the summer at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, taking cruises with her husband John and spending time with her grandchildren.
In 2004 Grammi and her husband John were blessed to become involved with Monte Vista Ranch in Wickenburg. For the last 13 years they have consider Wickenburg home and Grammi was blessed to have passed in the place she loved most, the Ranch, surrounded by many who loved her and in a beautiful place of nature.
Her smile, beauty, genuine kindness and humble nature will be missed by all who met her. She is survived in passing by her loving husband and soul mate John Carter Grimes of Wickenburg; son John Carter Grimes Jr. of Scottsdale; grandson, John Carter Grimes III of Atlanta, Georgia; and grandson Blake Henry Grimes of Scottsdale. She is preceded in death by her son, Michael Alan Grimes “Rooney” ' her mother and father Cora and Tolbert Cook and siblings Tolbert Jr. and Margaret Gomez.
We invite all who would like to say a final goodbye to Linda Carol to join the family for a brief open air graveside service on Feb. 18, 2021 at 2 p.m. at Paradise Memorial Gardens, 9300 E. Shea Blvd, Scottsdale AZ 85260.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that your remembrances are directed in her name to one of the following charities that reflect her loving spirit: The World Orphan Fund, https://www.theworldorphanfund.com/ or Phoenix Rescue Mission, https://phoenixrescuemission.org/
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