COLUMBUS
Beth Shannon Grimm, 78, of Columbus, died Thursday, March 29, 2018 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease.
A resident of Columbus for 50 years, she was the daughter of MacRae and Mary V. Shannon, born Jan. 6, 1940, in Ottawa, Illinois. She married Lloyd R. Grimm on Jan. 1, 1960, at Hanover College.
Beth lived a full and rich life and loved travel and meeting people. She grew up playing the flute and marched in her award-winning high school band. She was a member of the thespian society, and she was an avid softball player. Over the course of many years, she taught art at Brown County High School; ran an art gallery — The Grimm Adventure in Nashville — with her sister, Janeo Shannon; coordinated VISTA volunteers in south-central Indiana; worked vigorously for women’s reproductive and health rights and social justice; taught at The Joy Howe School in Columbus; and volunteered as a tour guide for the Visitor’s Center. She attended Hanover College and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from I.U. She also attended The Culinary Institute in New York. She traveled much of the United States throughout her life, including a cross-country drive to and through Alaska. She toured China and Italy with different groups of friends; traveled to Mexico with her husband; and, most recently, toured Ireland with her son, Tim, and grandson, Jackson. She also was a member of the local chapter of Walking Women. She enjoyed those friendships and taking many trips with the group.
She loved the arts and attended theater and concerts on a regular basis. For several years, she was an usher with The Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis. She was a member of PEO for 50 years, following in her mother’s footsteps; as well as the DAR; and a longtime member of the Unitarian-Universalist congregation of Columbus.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Lloyd, in 2017.
Beth is survived by her two sons, Tim (Jan Lucas-Grimm) of Columbus, and Luke (Esther Gresham-Grimm) of Chicago; two grandsons, Connor and Jackson; and her sister, Janeo of Columbus.
A life celebration for Beth and her husband, Lloyd, will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 2 at the Unitarian-Universalist congregation building, 7850 Goeller Rd. in Columbus.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Alzheimer’s Association, The Nature Conservancy or the American Civil Liberties Union.
