Dan Spence Grimes

Dan Spence Grimes, originally from Phoenix, Arizona - beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, passed away peacefully at the age of 94 on November 18, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

He was the son of the late Robert Bronaugh and Mildred (Spence) Grimes and was preceded in death by his brother, John Robert Grimes, and wife of 66 years, Sue (Miller) Grimes. He is survived by daughter Deborah (Kirk) Hanley, daughter Valerie (Thomas) Richbourg, son Gregory (Lynne) Grimes, son Steven (Pamela) Grimes, and son Bradley (Stephanie) Grimes; niece Julia (Whitecavage) Salas; sister-in-law Nancy Grimes; nephews John and Michael. He was a loving grandfather to Christopher, Matthew, Michael, Andrew, Lindsay and Phillip, and great grandchildren Adelaide, Penelope, Beau, Lilly, and Griffin.

Dan was a graduate of Lincoln High School in Cambridge City, Indiana. Following his graduation, he continued his lifelong pursuit in improving his understanding of the world at Earlham College while working at Crosley assembling refrigerators. However, his education was interrupted by the conflict in Korea. This began his military and defense contracting career which would span over 40 years. The following are some career highlights:

1952: Battlefield promoted from Private (E1) to Master Sergeant (E7) while serving in combat on “Old Baldy” with the 2nd Infantry Division. He was later awarded the Purple Heart for injuries suffered in Korea.

1957, May: Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant having completed Army ROTC as the Corps of Cadets Commander at Indiana University with an AB in Journalism.

1957, June: Assigned to a NIKE Air Defense battery in West Germany.

1963-1965: Completed Army training including Airborne and Ranger schools.

1966: Deployed to Vietnam as a Captain in the Army as part of the 1st Air Calvary Division.

1971: Graduated with a Master of Business Administration degree from Tulane’s School of Business Management and Master of Operations degree from Tulane’s Graduate School of Engineering.

1975: Retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel and began work in the Defense contracting arena, including for Advanced Data Research Services, Inc. (ADRSI) where he worked on the development of early relational databases that set the stage for modern business giants such as Oracle.

1990-1995: Returned to the Department of the Army as a civilian and retired as the Supervisory Operations Research Analyst, Headquarters, United States Army Information Systems Software Center.

Beyond his career, Dan was deeply devoted to his five children and extended family. The love of his life, Sue, was courted during their time at IU and remained by his side until her passing in July of 2023.

In retirement, Dan found enjoyment in perfecting his analytical skills with the game of Blackjack. He also loved collecting knives, tools and timepieces as well as maintaining a voracious pace of reading books on a wide range of topics from politics to quantum mechanics. In his later years, the great grandchildren provided endless joyful moments. Dan remained sharp until his last days and was always eager to debate conventional wisdom, discuss geopolitics, finance, sports or science.

Friends may call from 12 noon until the start of the funeral service at 1 PM on Saturday November 23, 2024 at Waskom Capitol Hill Chapel in Cambridge City, Indiana.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Dan’s memory may be made to the Disabled American Veterans (https://help.dav.org/) or the charity of your choice.

Online condolences may be made at www.waskoms.com

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