Raymond Lee Grimes' Obituary
Raymond Lee “Ray” Grimes passed peacefully the evening of November 29 in the house he built on his farm in Denton, with his loving wife, Judy, at his side and surrounded by his family.
Ray was born to Robert and Mary “Babe” (Wells) Grimes on June 10, 1935 in their home near Old Denton Road between Carrollton and Lewisville, Texas. He attended R.L. Turner High School and completed Irving Barber College after his uncle Woody Wells introduced him to the trade.
Ray met his soon-to-be-bride, Judith Mae Halliburton, at the Denton Road Drive-In popcorn stand in 1952, a story he enjoyed telling until his last days. Ray and Judy were married in a Methodist preacher’s home on June 22, 1953 at a cost of five dollars. Ray often judged it to be “the best five dollars I ever spent.” The marriage endured over seventy years and produced four children. Anyone who saw Ray and Judy together could tell they were very much in love. They were inseparable and carried on like young lovebirds from their first days of marriage to their last.
Ray was a man of faith well known in the community for his 54 years of work as a barber, first at Inwood Barber Shop, Preston Center, and Ray’s Barber Shop in Farmer’s Branch, and later in Lewisville. He opened “The Place” with his son Ron in 1972; it was later renamed Hair Menders. His daughter Connie and multiple grandchildren also joined him in the business, and Hair Menders is still open in Lewisville today. Ray provided a listening ear and good yarn to the area’s residents for decades, and on more than one occasion gave the first haircut to multiple generations of the same family. Likewise, he was a kind and generous boss and mentor to scores of north Texas barbers and stylists, many of whom now have shops of their own.
Ray retired from Hair Menders in 2006 to spend more time on his farm with his family. He loved farming and ranching, horses, and the outdoors. Ray bred and trained winning thoroughbreds that ran at tracks in Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Practically all who knew him agreed that he was perhaps the hardest working, strongest, and most vigorous man they had ever met. He could build a house from the ground up, bowl a 298, heal a horse that a vet said wouldn’t make it, and coerce the most stubborn mules and orneriest cows to listen.
Ray loved his family even more than he loved horses and farming. He was tough as leather, but he knew when and how to be tender. Ray provided for and protected his loved ones without fail. The lessons he taught his children and their children will last them a lifetime, as will their countless memories of quality time spent with him. Above all, Ray was a calm and steady presence through all of life’s storms. His great capacity for kindness and generosity never wavered and his mischievous sense of humor was often a source of joy for his family and friends.
Ray was preceded in death by his mother and father, brother Charlie Grimes, sisters Dorothy "Millie” Harrison, Joyce Stone, and granddaughter Lindsey Grimes.
He is survived by his loving wife, “Judy”, oldest brother, James Grimes, son Ron Grimes and wife, Marnie, daughter Janet and her husband, Nick Perone, daughter Linda Fontaine and her husband, Stuart Bailey, daughter Connie and husband Bob Ellison, sisters-in-law Linda Moody and Jean Campbell, brother-in-law Leon Campbell, thirteen grandchildren--Keith McDaniel, Jeremy Ellison, Mindy Cummings, Daniel Grimes, Brandon Ellison, Molly Roberts, Connie Schmidt, Chris Drumheller, Amanda Drumheller, Sarah Mundy, Laurynn Howard, Noelle Grimes, Luke Grimes—and twenty-eight great-grandchildren.
The visitation will be held Tuesday, December 5 at 10:00 am at Northview Baptist Church, 1981 Mill St. Lewisville. The celebration of life service will follow at 11:00 am, with a 1:00 pm graveside service and burial at Restland Cemetery in Dallas. Pastor Kenneth Wells, officiating, also received his first haircut from Ray.
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