John William Grimes

In late August 2026 Grimes telephoned the Marion County head coach, Tim Starkey, to explain that he would miss the season opener because he had just had a heart attack and was on his way to the emergency room. Further tests during that hospital stay revealed cancer. In the weeks that followed, too weak to stand on the sideline, he watched games from his car parked close to the field, and Starkey had the players jog over to wave to him on their way to the field each Friday.

Johnny Grimes died at his home in Jasper, Tennessee, on Friday 16 October 2026, aged 79, after a brief battle with cancer. His death was reported by Local 3 News and the Chattanooga Times Free Press, and tributes came from former players, students and colleagues. A celebration of life was arranged for the afternoon of Sunday 1 November 2026 at the Jasper chapel of Rogers Funeral Home. The family asked that memorial gifts go to Marion County Community Ministries, the Marion Animal Resource Connection, the Johnny Grimes Spirit of MCHS award fund at Marion County High School, or a charity of the donor's choice.

John William Grimes was born on 1 June 1947, the son of Will Grimes and Bessie Lee Forrester Grimes of Jasper, in Marion County, Tennessee. His siblings included Mary Nell "Tootie" Grimes, Betty Oglesby and Charles Grimes.

He attended Marion County High School, where he played football as a defensive back under Bill Baxter, a coach later inducted into the TSSAA Hall of Fame, and played basketball, captaining the team in his senior year. He graduated in 1965. Even as a boy he had wanted to coach at his alma mater, and after finishing college he came home to do so.

Grimes began his career at Marion County High School as an assistant football coach in 1969, and also taught there. Over a long career he coached five different sports at the school: football, basketball, baseball, golf and wrestling. According to his TSSAA Hall of Fame citation, every team he led reached the state tournament or a state championship game. His family's obituary notes that he revived the school's baseball programme in the 1970s.

When Ken Colquette became Marion County's head football coach in 1980, Grimes joined him in leading a staff that the Chattanooga Times Free Press described as one of the best the area had seen. Together they won about 82 percent of the games they coached, including a run of 56 wins and one loss that produced three state championships in four seasons, among them the titles of 1990 and 1992. He also served as the school's athletic director.

Grimes moved into administration as assistant principal, a post he held for 18 years, and then served eight years as principal before retiring from the school in 2004 after 35 years there. He then worked in the Marion County Schools central office, first supervising student affairs and later as curriculum director, completing about 45 years in the county's school system.

The TSSAA gave him its A. F. Bridges Award as Principal of the Year in 2001 and named him Administrator of the Year in 2006. He was inducted into the Marion County High School Hall of Fame, the TSSAA Hall of Fame in 2013 in the administrator category, and the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame.

Grimes married June Grimes, whom his obituary describes as a rival from another school when they met. They had two daughters, Lindsay and Lauren, and three grandsons.

Long after retirement he remained a fixture at Marion County High School. He attended athletic events in every sport and travelled to away football games, where he stood on the sideline to chart defensive plays and cheer the team on. In August 2020 the pick-up lane in front of the school was named Johnny Grimes Way in recognition of his dedication, and the school presents an annual Johnny Grimes Spirit of MCHS award to a senior.

For generations of Marion County students and athletes, Grimes was the familiar face of their high school, as a coach, administrator and lifelong supporter. His influence was felt in championship teams, in the careers of athletes who went on to college sport and in the lessons in character remembered by former pupils. The street sign bearing his name outside the school, the award in his name and his place in three halls of fame keep that connection alive.