Hi, my name is July Two and I’m a staff writer for the Northwood Omniscient. In this podcast, I’ll be speaking about the life of late Siler City Mayor John Grimes.
On Oct. 20, Mayor John Grimes passed away at the age of 77. Grimes was born in 1943 and grew up in a town in Davie County, North Carolina. After graduating from Davie County High School, he was offered multiple full scholarships to play football. He chose to attend Wake Forest University and in 2007, he was inducted into the Davie County Sports Hall of Fame. After graduating, he went to serve in the U.S. Army during the Cold War. Grimes relocated to Siler City after being asked by his father-in-law to join Cecil Budd Tire Company, which he would work with for 49 years.
Grimes first entered politics when he was elected in 1988 to the Chatham County Board of Commissioners. He was the first Republican commissioner to be elected on the board since the beginning of the 20th century. His time on the board lasted until 1994. From 1999 to 2003, he served as the District 4 Commissioner of Siler City and was re-elected three times. Before he became mayor, Grimes served as mayor pro tempore of Siler City, making decisions in the absence of the mayor. Then in 2013, he was elected mayor and would win four more terms. He was last re-elected on Nov 5, 2019.
Throughout his time as mayor, the town received $32 million in grants. Grimes also worked on advancing the town’s sewer and water functions during his terms.
In the community, he was a volunteer fireman. He was also a member of the First Baptist Church and taught Sunday school for youth and adult men.
Although Grimes was ill, he kept in touch with the community and voted for the upcoming election four days before his passing; however, his vote will most likely not be counted. North Carolina is part of 17 states that do not count votes of those who passed away before the election.
On the day of his passing, Grimes’ family was informed that as a U.S. veteran, an American flag would be flown over the Capitol building of Washington in his honor. The flag was later sent to Siler City to be used at his funeral.
As of right now the seat for mayor is vacant. Cindy Bray is the current mayor protempore and acting in place of Grimes.
Thanks for listening to this podcast on behalf of the Northwood Omniscient, we hope you learned something from it! If you enjoyed, be on the lookout for more podcasts like this to come in the future.
-July Two
To learn more about John Grimes visit the Chatham News and Record and Legacy.
Photo from Chatham News + Record.
