James “Jim” Forest Grimshaw, 82, passed away on August 20, 2026. He was born July 5, 1944, in Springfield, Ohio, to Forest and Mary Kay (Figgins) Grimshaw. Jim spent his childhood in Yellow Springs and later Xenia before moving to Columbus to attend The Ohio State University, where he studied art and earned his degree in psychology. It was in the dorms at Ohio State that he met Karen Slagle, the woman who would become his wife of 56 years.

He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam era, stationed in Alaska. Returning home, he and Karen moved first to Columbus then later to Chillicothe to raise their family and he began a career with the Social Security Administration as a field representative — work he carried out with steadiness and care for 36 years before retiring. He made an indelible impact on his co-workers and the people he served over the years. He was a beloved member of the Chillicothe community for decades.

To know Jim was to love him. He never met a stranger. His warm smile put people at ease before he’d said a word, and he had a way of making whoever he was talking to feel like the most interesting person in the room. He was kind, incredibly patient, and generous and had the most wonderful sense of humor. Even people who met him only in passing felt it — nurses at the hospital, a worker at a drive-through window — and time and again they would tell his family how kind he was, how funny, how easy to be around.

He always made his daughters and grandchildren laugh. They have fond memories of their childhoods with him as the dad and grandad who was always ready for a game and who listened earnestly to whatever they had to tell him. He would do anything to make his family feel loved, cherished, and happy. He was, above all, the most devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

He made beautiful art throughout his life with a wide range of mediums - everything from pen and ink sketches, oil paints, to acrylics. He also entertained his family and friends with original cartoons, many of which were published over his lifetime. He and Karen spent 25 years in Lake Wildwood in Penn Valley, California, enjoying the sunshine and the golf course and the many friends they made there before returning home to Ohio.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Joan (Maus) Kruse. He is survived by his loving wife, Karen (Slagle) Grimshaw; his daughters, Jaymie (Grimshaw Henderson) Nicholson (Kevin) and Katie (Grimshaw) Montgomery (Jarrod); his five grandchildren, Jon Henderson, Ash Henderson, Jacob Henderson, Tyler Nicholson, and Claire Montgomery; his great-granddaughter, Madi Henderson; and his sisters, Connie (Grimshaw) Gaudette and Mindy (Grimshaw) Bales (Danny).

A small family ceremony will be held Monday, August 24, 2026, at Glen Forest Cemetery in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

In lieu of flowers please send donations to Ohio’s Hospice of Central Ohio (www.ohioshospice.org)

Arrangements with GRAUMLICH FUNERAL HOME, 1351 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43207. To sign the online guest book and to leave a condolence for James' family please visit www.graumlichfuneral.com