John Grimsley, Jr.

John E. Grimsley Jr. was the first of four, born May 13, 1930 and passed away on February 12, 2022 at home at the glorious old age of 91 with family by his side. He was the son of late John Grimsley Sr and Nina Grimsley (Barton) of Fairmount, NY. As a child, John delivered newspapers and worked in a meat packing plant to help the family make ends meet. John worked as he went to Canton College and graduated in 1951 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He married Alfreda Millard on Dec 23, 1950 at Fairmount Union Church by Rev. Fredericks and was married 48 years loving years. John and Alfreda had three children; Stanley K (Rose) of Atwood, Tn, Jaqueline E (Richard) LeFort of Trenton, TN, Timothy J (Robin) of Merriam, KS and 1 Daughter in-love Barbara (Kelly) of Chicago, IL. He worked as an engineer in Central, NY out of college when Alfreda, John and the family moved to Detroit, MI. Years later John took the family to Kansas City, MO where he retired from Midwest Conveyer company in 1996.

It was important to John to spend time with his family, create a lot of memories together and share a lot of love. John had a saying “Be good or have fun doing it.” He lived by this all through his life as he taught his family and friends to enjoy life and love everyone. John and Alfreda led a Christian life and were faithful disciples of Christ. John went on a men’s missionary trip one year to El Salvador to help build a chapel, showing up with fancy toolboxes and power tools only to discover the village had no electricity. He learned that you don’t always need fancy tools and all you need is Jesus. This helped him to teach them the lessons he was learning about God. Alfreda went on a trip at the same time to Haiti to help with nutrition. They shared this mission work of God as a memory together. They were also avid campers and were part of a group called the Prairie Dogs in MI. These memories would teach them a lot in of Fair Haven, NY.

From their three children, they were blessed with 10 Grandchildren; Robin (Jay) Huffman, Shane (Julie) Bellington, James (Jamie) Burger, Jerimiah (Sarah) Grimsley, Joyellen (Kenny) Sanders, Jeffery (Trisha) Lefort, Roy (Mary) Burger, Dan Lefort, Jessica Price-Grimsley (Devante) Loveplate, Robert Craft. Along the way twenty-four great grandchildren and twelve great-great grandchildren came a long and filled Johns life. They also took annual trips to Green Lake, WI as part of the American Baptist Conference. After John retired, they built his dream home in Fair Haven, NY. He enjoyed putsing in his workshop and putting together puzzles, both traits that he got from his late father. He enjoyed his cookies with coffee and Ice Cream nightly.

John is survived by brother Hugh Grimsley of Albuquerque, NM and is predeceased by Brother Barton (Alice) Grimsley, Joanne Bizzel, Sister in-law Patricia Grimsley and Daughter in-law Mary Grimsley