Julia Grimm

JULIA H. GRIMM

Cedar Rapids

Julia Elizabeth Harris Grimm, 99, of The Meth-Wick Community in Cedar Rapids, formerly of Hurdsfield, N.D., died Tuesday, April 15, 2014, in her home. A funeral service celebrating Julia's life will be 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, at Hurdsfield Community Center, Hurdsfield, N.D., with Paul Gunderson officiating. Visitation will be from 2 to 7 p.m. Monday, April 21, at Hertz Funeral Home, Harvey, N.D. Burial will be in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Hurdsfield.

Survivors include her three sons, Donald (Marjorie) of Cedar Rapids, R. Eugene (Karen) of Hickson, N.D., and Duane (Allison)

of Rockford, Ill.; grandchildren, Ann Grimm, Roy Grimm and Jane (Jason) Adams, all of Cedar Rapids; sister-in-law, Elaine (Wayne) Grimm of Moorhead, Minn.; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Kermit Grimm; and her brothers, Henry Elmer Harris, Ward Carmack Harris, Eldon Lewis Harris and Ralph Waldo Harris.

Julia was born Sept. 28, 1914, on the family farm near Hurdsfield, N.D., the daughter of Lewis J. and Lula Glenn (Dunbar) Harris. She attended country school through the eighth grade and graduated from Hurdsfield High School in 1931. Julia went on to attend Brady and Rogers Beauty School in Minneapolis. She had to return to the family farm due to her mother's poor health. She worked in the local post office and provided part time beauty services.

Julia and Kermit Grimm were united in marriage on Dec. 24, 1936, in Hurdsfield. They lived in New Rockford and Fessenden for a short time before moving back to Hurdsfield. Julia helped her husband with bookkeeping duties and in the parts department at the family-owned Corner Garage in Hurdsfield. They sold the Corner Garage in 2000.

In following years, the couple moved into the Hurdsfield Senior Housing facility and subsequently into the St. Aloisius Medical Center Senior Housing units in Harvey, N.D. She moved to The Meth-Wick Community in Cedar Rapids in July 2008 to be closer to her son and her grandchildren.

She was an active member of the Hurdsfield, N.D., Congregational Church until that congregation disbanded, then joined the Methodist Church in Goodrich, N.D. Upon moving to Harvey, N.D., she joined the Methodist Church in that city.

She had strong ties to family and loved reunions and family visits. She showed the depth of her devotion to family when, in 1969, she donated a kidney to her brother, Ralph.

She filled her life in Hurdsfield with community activities, such as the Ladies Aid and Homemaker meetings. She was an enthusiastic game player and loved gatherings with friends and family to play canasta, hand-and-foot, bingo and any other game that involved groups of people. She was also skilled at crafts, particularly crocheting. She leaves a legacy of handmade works of art for her descendants.

In lieu of flowers, please consider giving memorials to The Meth-Wick Community, the Methodist Church to help with its mission to rural North Dakota or the Hurdsfield Community Center to assist with its service to the community.