By Chris Goldberg and From Godfrey Funeral Home
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/9/24
James “Jim” Grimes, passed away of sudden cardiac arrest on Monday, February 5, 2024, at his home in Ocean City, N.J. Born Christmas Eve, December 24, 1960, the seventh of nine children of Mary and Joseph Grimes, Jim grew up in Philadelphia and Jenkintown and spent his summers with family enjoying the beach and boardwalk of Ocean City.
Jim attended Abington High School, graduating in 1979, and Drexel University, achieving a business and finance degree in 1984. After Drexel, Jim sold insurance, then secured his stock-broker license and became a licensed real estate agent at Ocean City Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, and McCann Real Estate.
At Abington, Jim excelled in all sports but achieved his greatest success in lacrosse on the top-ranked Abington Lacrosse team. Jim and his teammates were defeated in the Pennsylvania State finals twice yet the exposure led to several scholarship offers with Jim selecting the Drexel Dragons. Jim’s lacrosse exploits continued at Drexel where he earned 1st Team All East Coast Conference Defenseman honors in 1982 and 1983. In their memorial comments, Jim’s friends universally deemed Jim the best defenseman of their era, noting Jim is enrolled as an Honored Dragon at Drexel.
Jim helped Abington become a Philly power despite fielding the only public school team in the North. His sophomore year, Abington fell in overtime to Lower Merion in the Eastern Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association title game. In his junior year, Abington lost to eventual champion Springfield-Delco in the semifinals and then the Ghosts fell to Lower Merion again in the 1979 final. Jim was named team captain that year by legendary Abington coach Joseph “Doc” Jurich.
“There was no voting; we had a lot of seniors on that team but Doc appointed Jim captain because Jim was a true leader,” said Mike McCormick, a senior on the 1979 Abington team. “He worked hard and set the example for everybody.
“I played through high school and at Penn State (for two years) and I have seen some good players and I’ve been around people that can hit legally. Our senior year there was a ton of talent in the Philly area and in our first game against Harriton Jim came off the wing on the faceoff and put one of the hardest hits I ever heard and saw on Ward Steidle, a preseason All-American. Jim was a real tough athlete and a tough guy, but he was humble and played by the rules.”
Besides being a talent adend hard-nosed player, Jim was versatile. “He was a defenseman his junior year at Abington and then in his senior year he played middie,” said Bruce Oswald, a 1978 Abington grad and teammate who also played with Jim at Drexel. “He showed his versatility to play any position. At Drexel he covered me in practice. He was mild-mannered, but on the field he had an attitude and could get very aggressive. We had an agreement that he wouldn’t beat me up if I didn’t run him too hard.”
“Jimmy’s talent and skills on the field were only out-rivaled by his passion to just connect with his teammates and anybody off the field,” added Scott Carruthers, who also played with him at Drexel. “He just owned the genuine ability to listen and then help in any way he could. When you think about a winning teammate, you want to make certain you are wearing the same colors as Jimmy Grimes.”
Jim’s lifelong friendships at Drexel were forged as fraternity brothers at Alpha Pi Lambda (“Apple Pi”) where his teammates predominated. Jim was unanimously elected to the un-coveted role of “House Manager,” no doubt the result of surviving life in a big family. Jim’s Apple Pi brothers report Jim embraced the role and was House leader in all inter-fraternity team competitions which they “dominated.”
After college, Jim continued to play club lacrosse across the country and later applied his experience as a Pennsylvania and New Jersey high school lacrosse referee. When age began to claim his knees, Jim sought knee replacement in the hope of returning to the referee ranks to oversee the game he loved.
Always ready to help with any project large or small, Jim could call on a vast array of carpentry and painting skills, finishing the project better than new. If a friend asked any family member if Jim was truly as skilled as he humbly claimed, they would quickly produce a picture of a seven-foot grandfather clock Jim built in his teens as a present for their mother. These skills served Jim well in another career path as a property manager in Ocean City when he headed toward retirement.
What family and friends remember most was Jim’s humble and unassuming way. No one can remember Jim ever having a harsh word for anyone. Everyone was his friend. Jim would take time to talk to all. And if the conversation lingered even for a moment, Jim could fill the void with a good joke. Jim’s capacity for friendship and ability to listen was without limit.
Jim’s parents, Mary and Joseph, have passed on, but Jim is survived and remembered with deep love by his eight siblings, spouses and partners, Joe (Sharon), Rocky (Vicki), Peg (John), Maria, Michael (Rebecca), Frank (Kim), Patrick and Mark (Julie), twenty-six nieces and nephews, and eighteen great nieces and nephews. “Uncle Jim” and “Jimbo” was the universal favorite of all and godfather to ReRe Santilli and Michael McCormick, Jr.
The Grimes family invites everyone to Jim’s viewing at the Godfrey Funeral Home, 644 S. Shore Road, Palermo, NJ 08223 on Thursday, February 15, 2024, from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M., and Friday, February 16, 2024, from 10:00 to 11:00 A.M.at St. Augustine’s Church 1310 Ocean Avenue, Ocean City, NJ 08226. Mass will begin at 11:00 A.M.
In lieu of flowers, the Grimes family suggests a donation be made in Jim’s memory to a youth lacrosse program of your choice or to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, 6735 Black horse Pike, Egg Harbor, NJ 08234 (www.cfbnj.org)
