Carol Woods Grimsley of Billings, beloved wife, and mother, passed away on February 25 at the age of 80. She was born January 9, 1943, on a farm outside of Laurinburg, NC to Cress Woods and Melissa McGirt. Cress and Melissa would later divorce, and Carol was raised by her mother and grandmother, Fronie, to be an unfailingly loyal and strongly independent woman. She spent her childhood in Laurinburg where she attended school and graduated from high school.
Carol later started working as an operator for AT&T, a job that would take her to
Charlotte, NC and later back to her hometown.
On July 16, 1971, she married Jerry, whom she had met at 18. In 1975, Carol and Jerry moved to
Billings, Montana for Jerry's job, and that is where Carol lived happily and raised her family while also continuing to work as an operator until she retired from AT&T. Never one to be idle, Carol began working at Herberger's department store where she worked until the store closed in 2018. After the closure, she decided to officially retire and spend time with her family.
Carol was a loving wife to her husband of nearly 52 years, and a devoted mother to her two daughters, Jada, and Jeri Ann. Her family was the center of her universe.
Carol loved fiercely and devoted herself completely to those she loved. She was the best friend a person could hope to have and a surrogate mother and grandmother to any child, or adult, who needed her. Carol also had a wicked sense of humor with a quick laugh and bright smile that felt like sunshine. She had a deep love of God and was a living example of her strong faith. She had a kind heart, a gentle soul, and a stubborn streak a mile wide.
Carol is survived by her husband, Jerry Grimsley; her daughters Jada (Scott) Aplin of Belgrade, MT, and Jeri Ann Grimsley of Billings; her granddaughters Katie and Faith Aplin of Belgrade, MT; her stepson Kenny (Rhonda) Grimsley of
High Point, NC and their sons, Jackson and Carson.
Katie's tribute to her Amma:
God this is something I could have never prepared myself for. Yesterday a little after 6:00am I said goodbye to my amazing grandma for the last time. The last time I will ever be able to hold your hand and hug you. God if I knew the last time, I saw you was gonna be the last, the things I would have said to you, the longer I would have hugged you. You are and always will be such a huge part of my life. You never stopped pushing me to be the best I could be. I can't even begin to imagine the person I would be without you in my life. You helped shape me in so many ways to the person I am today. I will never get used to calling Papa on the phone and not being able to say hi to you. Little did you know, but I was coming down next weekend to surprise you. I've been planning on it all month. I know deep down God had plans for you and wanted you home but damn there is no way he needed you more than I do, more than this family needed you. You were there for every big memory and milestone. I don't know how I will ever be ok with you not being here for the rest. I know
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