Jeffrrey C. Grimes

Jeffrey C. Grimes of Center Hill, Florida passed away in hospice on Friday, June 29, 2018 at age 69. Jeff was born March 29, 1949 at Defiance, Ohio, the second of four boys born to Robert C. Grimes and Irene (nee Kizer) Grimes. The family moved to Illinois in 1950, and Jeff graduated in 1967 from Beardstown High School, where he played on the football, basketball and golf teams. During his senior year, he followed in his father's footsteps by enlisting in the U.S. Navy, where he served four years during the Vietnam war, assigned to the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. After his service, he remained in Florida for the rest of his life. He earned a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from the University of Central Florida in 1979 and a Master of Education degree from that school in 1982. He was a middle-school science teacher in the Lake County, Florida area for over thirty years, last at Oak Park Middle School in Leesburg. He also coached girls' basketball at schools in Clermont and Leesburg. Jeff remained active in recreational activities he loved, golf, biking, camping and surfing in Atlantic Ocean until a few weeks before his death. He particularly enjoyed returning for the 50-year reunion of his B.H.S. Class of '67 and renewing old friendships. He was preceded in death by his beloved mother, Irene Bell, of Beardstown in 2001. She was well-known in hospitality and nursing services in the area for many years, and as a faithful member of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church. His father was an Illinois school teacher for thirty years at Hartsburg-Emden High School, after working for Rockford Life as an agent in Beardstown, and as a managing agent in Jacksonville, Illinois. He died in 2006. Jeff was also preceded in death by his brothers, Michael R. Grimes of Beardstown in 2000 and Todd B. Grimes of Azle, Texas in 2013. He is survived by his brother Doug Grimes of Waukegan, Illinois and by his step-father, Lyle Bell of Beardstown and nephew, Brent Grimes. Also surviving are his loving companion, Cindy Idell Rubin of Florida and New York, and his niece, Julia Coleman of Zion, Illinois and her son, Zacchaeus Anthony Coleman, 21 months. A date will be set for a memorial service. Arrangements are in care of Beyers Funeral Home, Leesburg, Florida, Contact information is www.beyersfuneralhome.com.

Jeffrrey C. Grimes

March 29, 1949 - June 29, 2018