Thomas Elwin Grimes was born on January 22, 1930, in Monticello, Iowa, the third of four children of Archibald Boise Grimes and Elvera Netty Grimes. The day he was born was the coldest day on record for the 20th century in Iowa – 36 degrees below zero! His sisters, Rebecca Stearns, Janis Kurz, and Nancy Toepfer, proceeded him in death. His daughter Rebecca Jane DiBell by his first wife, Phyllis Clayton, died in 1999. He is survived by his wife, Maureen Grimes and her daughter Paula Hill; his ex-wife Carolyn Grimes Sherwood; his children Mark Lindsay Grimes and Janis Grimes Filiaggi; and his grandchildren Lindsey and Shannon Grimes.

Tom attended Monticello Schools until his family moved to Boone, Iowa where he graduated from Boone High School in 1947. He then went to Boone Junior College for one year and on to Cornell College, where he graduated with a degree in History and Political Science in 1951. After college he attended Columbia University in New York City where he earned a Master’s in Degree in International Affairs in 1953.

Tom worked for Ford Motor Company for 35 years, first in the International Division in New York City, and then for Ford’s finance team in Detroit, MI. He retired in 1990.

Throughout life, Tom’s greatest loves were athletics and music. He was a gifted athlete, playing basketball and running track in high school and college. He won many tennis tournaments while in Detroit and continued to play tennis until he was 90 years old. He also earned a 2nd degree black belt in judo. He met his wife Maureen on the tennis court and together they enjoyed 42 years of life that included tennis and travel throughout the United States and Europe.

Tom loved choral music and sang for many years with The Kenneth Jewell Chorale in Detroit, for whom he also served as business manager. After retiring from Ford, Tom volunteered for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for seven years, lecturing at over 60 high schools about the joys of classical music. Tom’s extended family remembers him as a warm, generous uncle with an impressive high fidelity stereo system that was almost always playing classical music. One of Tom’s favorite sayings was, “Get some couth,” used to encourage his children to appreciate cultural events such as opera. Tom embraced life with energy, curiosity, and gratitude, and this message is valuable to all of us: take the time to appreciate art, music, and culture. Thank you, Tom.

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