John Joseph Grimes

John Joseph Grimes, age 56, of Paola, Kansas passed away February 18, 2019 at Olathe Medical Center. John was born April 26, 1962 at University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas and then adopted into the family of Floyd Joseph and Mary Ann Deschner Grimes. He was raised in Paola, Kansas and attended Paola Elementary and Paola Middle Schools and graduated from Paola High School in 1980. He received college credits from Fort Scott Community College, Wichita State University and Johnson County Community College. In 1984, he graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center spending a total of 6 years in law enforcement starting on Wichita State University campus in 1980 and ending in Kinsley, Kansas in 1986 as a police officer patrolman. John also dispatched for the Paola Police Department in 1980 and 1981. John moved back to Paola, Kansas in 1986, moved to the family farm in rural Miami County in 1987 where he lived until his death. He was married for a short time in the early 1990’s but that ended in a divorce in 1997. In 1996, he started the Miami County Internet Onramp bringing the first locally available internet to the Paola area. In 2010, he purchased an existing business, Security Protection Systems. He continued to operate both businesses until his death. He enjoyed being a BBQ judge and running BBQ contests as a Contest Representative for the Kansas City Barbecue Society. John was a member of the First Presbyterian Church as a child and continued as an inactive member through adulthood. He is survived by his parents Dr. Floyd and Mary Ann Grimes of Paola; brother George Grimes of Peculiar, MO; companion Casey Duncan; Uncle David and Aunt Sarah Grimes of Midland, TX; Uncle Max and Aunt Lillie (Grimes) Larsen of Lincoln, NE; and many cousins and friends. To share your memories of John or leave a special condonlence message for his family, please click on the Share A Memory tab.