A celebration of life and potluck honoring longtime Boulder Creek resident Virgil Lee Grimes will be held in Boulder Creek on April 7.
Mr. Grimes died of heart failure March 12 at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz. He was 63.
The son of Virgil and Ellen Grimes, he grew up in Garden Grove and graduated from Santiago High School in Garden Grove in 1969. He joined the Army and earned a National Defense Service Medal as a sharpshooter with the M16 and was honorably discharged in 1976.
Mr. Grimes became a bartender at Joe’s Bar in Boulder Creek, where he worked for 32 years before retiring. He volunteered with the Ben Lomond Fire Department in the mid-1970s, coached Little League, fished, camped on the eastern slope of the high Sierras and played horseshoes with a group of friends. He loved to travel to Hawaii and attended several NFL pro bowls.
Mr. Grimes was known by many as Santa Claus at Joe’s Bar’s annual Christmas fundraiser for Valley Churches United Missions. He also tended the bar at the former Red Hot, Red Hat golf tournament and the Boulder Creek Fire Dance.
He is survived by sisters Jeanette Imonti of Chicago and Joyce Agur of Southern California; four nieces and their spouses; five great-nieces and four great-nephews; and many friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
The celebration of his life will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. April 7 at Scopazzi’s Restaurant, 13300 Big Basin Way, in Boulder Creek. Guests are encouraged to take a potluck dish to the Hawaiian-themed party.
To sign a guestbook in memory of Mr. Grimes, visit www.pacificgardenschapel.com.
