Obituary of Joyce Grimes

Joyce Burns Grimes, 91, died in Hilton Head, SC on January 2018. She was born in 1926 in Ashland, Kansas to Stacy and Beulah Burns. After graduating from Ashland High School in 1944, Joyce attended Southwestern College and then transferred to the University of Kansas, where she earned a BA in English with a minor in Music. She received training and her teaching certification from Sterling College. She began her career in education teaching English and History at Ashland High School in 1949. Additionally, that year she married Gerry Grimes, also of Ashland, Kansas. After several moves to locations in Colorado and California, they settled in Pratt, Kansas in 1953. Joyce continued her teaching career in Pratt from 1962 to 1968. During that time, she obtained a Masters degree in Education from Wichita State University with an emphasis on elementary education. In 1968, the family moved to Cimarron, Kansas. Joyce taught 4th grade at Cimarron Elementary School until her retirement in 1990. During that time she became involved in the Kansas National Education Association working on several committees and became the Chairperson of the Kansas State Teaching Standards Advisory Board with responsibility to advise the Kansas Legislature. While in Kansas, Joyce worked with the state and county Democratic Committees. She was a volunteer advocate for CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocate Program to be the voice for children caught up in the judicial system. After her retirement in 1990, Joyce moved to Sun City West, AZ where she enjoyed volunteering at the Sun City West Sundome, singing in the choir at Shepherd of the Hill Methodist Church, and meeting new people. In 2011, she moved to Hilton Head, SC. Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, husband, sisters, Rita Atkinson and Phyllis Broadie, and eldest son Mike. Survivors include Marshall Grimes and wife, Barbara, of Hilton Head, SC, and Gail Grimes and husband, Mark Greenberg, of Santa Fe, NM. A private family service will be held at the Six Oaks Cemetery in Hilton Head, SC. A Celebration of Life will be planned for a later date. Memorials are requested in lieu of flowers and suggested to Hospice Care of the Lowcountry, PO Box 3827, Bluffton, SC 29910, or Hilton Head Island Deep Well Project, PO Box 5543, Hilton Head, SC 29938. islandfuneralhome.com 843.706.2296 To send flowers or a remembrance gift to the family of Joyce Grimes, please visit our Flower & Gift Shop.