| Birth: | Jan. 9, 1923 | | Death: | Jan. 24, 2008 | 
CHARLES KENNETH GRIMES of Germantown passed away on Thursday afternoon, January 24, 2008 at the Tennessee Veterans State Home in Humboldt. He had turned 85 on January 9. He leaves his wife, Joyce Callaway Grimes; his daughter, Deborah Anne Marston; his son, Charles K. Grimes Jr.; his sister, Dorothy Owens; eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren and Rosie his pet Chihuahua. Ken Grimes was born in Memphis, Tennessee on January 9, 1923. He spent his childhood in Memphis and attended Humes High School, succeeded by Elvis Presley two years later. He enlisted in the service near the end of World War II and volunteered for pilot training. He qualified to fly the B-17 just before the end of the war but never flew a mission. His military career spanned nearly 30 years during which time he served in the Korean War and Vietnam War. He became a command pilot and reached the rank of Colonel. His final combat tours were served in Vietnam flying missions in the C-131 including dangerous low-altitude parachute extractions in Khe Shan during the siege of 1967-68. After retiring from the military in 1973, he worked for 5 years at Boeing Corporation in Wichita after which he fully retired to become a passionate golfer. Ken had a parallel academic career beginning as an undergraduate at the University of Alabama where he received his BS in engineering. He later obtained a Masters degree from M.I.T. and a Ph.D. in aeronautical engineering from Caltech. He became an instructor at the Armed Forces Institute of Technology at Wright Patterson Air Force Base and headed the Structure and Materials division of the Flight Dynamics Laboratory there. He was married to his first wife, Celena M. Grimes in 1941. In spite of the vicissitudes of three wars and periodic separations, they remained a devoted couple for 45 years, living together as newlyweds, parenting two children, and enjoying an early retirement traveling to Hawaii on three occasions. Perhaps their most cherished role was as grand-parents. He steadfastly took care of Celena throughout her long bout with pulmonary disease. Ken was remarried to Frances Larrison Grimes in 1987. Their life together was tragically cut short when Fran succumbed to ALS in 1999. Subsquent to Fran's death, Ken was extremely fortunate to meet and marry Joyce C. Nichols in 2001 with whom he happily shared the last several years. The visitation will be on Saturday evening, January 26 from 6-8 p.m. at Memorial Park Funeral Home. The internment will take place in Memorial Park Cemetery at 2 p.m. on Sunday January 27 under a military honor guard. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Alzheimer's Association. The internet address is www.alz.org and mailing address is Alzheimer's Association. 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601-7633. Memorial Park Funeral Home 901-767-8930 www.memorialparkonline.com (Published in The Commercial Appeal on 1/26/2008.)
Family links:
Parents:
James Reuben Grimes (1899 - 1969)
Violet Carrigan Grimes (1898 - 1972)
Spouses:
Celena Craig Grimes (1923 - 1986)
Frances Kaye Castle-Larrison Grimes (1940 - 2000)*
*Calculated relationship
| | | Burial:
Memorial Park Cemetery
Memphis
Shelby County
Tennessee, USA |
Created by: Carole McCaig
Record added: Jan 25, 2008
Find A Grave Memorial# 24167679 |
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Miss you so much.Thank you for being such a wonderful Dad!Praying for you & Mom. Love you.
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Your Son, James
Added: Jun. 17, 2012 |
I miss you Ken. I miss you mom (Frances).I miss you two so much.
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Added: Jun. 7, 2011 |
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