John U. Grimsley Jr.

July 15, 2015

John U. Grimsley, Jr., 89, of Bainbridge,  passed away Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at his residence.

The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 18, 2015 at First Presbyterian Church with Dr. Gerald A. Little officiating. Interment will be at Oak City Cemetery with his grandchildren serving as active pallbearers.

The family will receive friends immediately following the service. Online visitors may sign the guest register at www.iveyfuneral.com. Memorial donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 7067, Bainbridge, GA 39818 or the Friendship House, P. O. Box 513, Bainbridge, GA 39818.

Mr. Grimsley was born September 3, 1925 in Bainbridge, the son of John Uhel Grimsley Sr. and Katherine Fields Grimsley. A native of Bainbridge, John graduated from Bainbridge High School and served in the USMC during World War II. After the war, he attended the University of Georgia where he was a member of SAE fraternity and was mayor of Veterans Village. He graduated with a B.S. degree in Pharmacy. He joined his father, also a registered pharmacist, in the family business in 1949. John was a devoted husband, father, and an avid supporter of the University of Georgia football team, at one time serving as head recruiter of Southwest Georgia under Coach Wally Butts.

He was a member of First Presbyterian Church and served as a deacon, elder and treasurer as well as elder emeritus. He also served as Chairman of Bainbridge Housing Authority, director at First Port City Bank, member and president of Bainbridge Touchdown Club, past member of the Rotary Club, past member of the Bainbridge Board of Education, past president of Southwest Georgia Pharmaceutical Association and past member of the Decatur County Board of Health.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Katherine Grimsley, his first wife, India Elizabeth; his daughter, India Katherine; his son, Robert Pair; and his brothers, Edwin Varner and Fields Varner.

Survivors include his wife, Doris Phillips Grimsley; his children, John U. Grimsley, III and his wife, Nancy, of Bainbridge, Owen W. Grimsley and his wife, Rebecca, of Marianna, Fla., George F. Grimsley and his wife, Susan, of Tallahassee, Fla., Edwin W. Grimsley and his wife, Peggy, of Macon, Michael A. Grimsley and his wife, Kelly, of Thomasville, Carol Jean Jones of Crestview, Fla., and Mary R. Frazier and her husband, Bill, of Shalamar, Fla.; his daughter-in-law, Hanni Pair of Crestview, Fla.; his grandchildren, John U. Grimsley, IV, Sloan Elizabeth Grimsley, Owen W. Grimsley, Jr., Matthew A. Grimsley, William G. Grimsley, George F. Grimsley, Jr., William E. Grimsley, Mary Katherine Gay, Elizabeth Lowe, Walker Grimsley, India Jane Grimsley, Colin Grimsley, Walton Grimsley, Kimberly Lamar, Trey Klauss, Meagan Jones, Alison Williams, Jason Frazier, and 19 great-grandchildren. In addition to his family, Mr. Grimsley is survived by his friend of many years, Willie C. Tucker