Ruthie Elizabeth Grimes

Ruthie Grimes was born in Edna, Oklahoma, in 1943. At just nine months old, she moved with her family—mother Lorene, father Clarence, and brother Will—to California, where her father worked on Treasure Island in San Francisco during the war. After the war, the family traveled as migrant workers throughout California’s Central Valley. In 1955, her younger brother Lanie was born, and the following year her father passed away in Chowchilla, California. In 1958, her mother married Jack Lucas in McFarland, California.

Ruthie attended high school in McFarland and went on to earn her teaching credential at Fresno State Extension in Bakersfield after studying at Bakersfield College. She began her teaching career with the McFarland School District at Kern Avenue School, where she taught with dedication for 38 years.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Will Burgett and Lanie Burgett; her son, Tim Waldrum, and Tim’s father, Joel Waldrum. In 1998, she married Ed Grimes, who passed away in 2018. She was also preceded by her stepson, Jason Grimes, who passed away in 2024.

Ruthie is survived by her son, Gene Waldrum; stepson Mike Grimes and his wife, Kirsten Grimes; stepdaughter Shelly Sottile; stepson Ryan Grimes and his wife, Kimberly Grimes; stepson Mark Reabold and his wife, Pam Reabold; stepdaughter Tauna Mills and her husband, Dan Mills; and stepdaughter Annette Burnett and her husband, Steve Burnett. She will be deeply missed by her family and all who knew her. She will be laid to rest between her husband Ed and her son Tim at the Eastside Cemetery in Tehachapi, California.