Elmer Grimes

Services for Ray Grimes, 79, of Emerald Bay will be on Saturday, June 27, 2009 at 10:00 AM at Emerald Bay Community Church with Dr. Jay Riley officiating. Burial will be on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 10:00 AM at DFW National Cemetery in Dallas under the direction of Stewart Family Funeral Home. Mr. Grimes passed away June 24, 2009 in Tyler. Ray Grimes was born in Bentonville, AR, September 27, 1929. He moved to Bremerton, WA. in 1940, where he met his future wife, Nadine, in high school. Ray joined the Navy June 30th 1948 right out of high school. His career spanned 31 years from a navy seaman to the rank of Commander. He was selected to go to the University of Washington in 1958 and he graduated in 1962 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He earned a Masters degree from USC in Systems Management in 1978. He served for 2 years on the aircraft carrier USS Hancock as the guided missile officer in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. He was the Program Manager for Weapons systems of the Naval Electronics Systems Command in Washington, D.C. He was the liaison for the Navy to the Air Force at the Space and Missile center in El Segundo, CA. He was awarded several medals of which the Meritorious Service Medal (3 stars), the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Navy Achievement Medal (2 stars) are just a sampling. Ray retired on June 30th, 1979. He was recruited by the Aerospace Corp. in El Segundo, CA, where he worked as a program manager on the Satellites Communications Systems for 13 years. He retired completely in 1991 and moved to East Texas to become a member of the Emerald Bay Community. Ray loved playing golf with his buddies in the Golden Tees, where he served as president for 2 years. A member of Emerald Bay Community church for 18 years, Ray was a dedicated Christian man. He was a loving husband to his wife of 60 years Nadine Grimes and loving father to his son Chris Grimes and daughter Marsha Blackwelder. He was a loving grandfather to granddaughters Maranda Moran and Morgana Blackwelder, and grandsons Austin and Spencer Grimes, and great grandfather to Mattox Moran. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Emerald Bay Golden Tees. Memorials in memory of Ray Grimes may be made to the Emerald Bay Community Church or the Emerald Bay Women’s Club Memorial Fund.

Elmer Grimes

September 27, 1929 - June 24, 2009