A dedication ceremony and reception in memory of Hennessey High School graduate and United States Air Force Colonel Derek Ivan Grimes is scheduled this Saturday, Jan. 11, at the Hennessey Mercantile.

The family invites others to join them from 3-4 p.m.

State Rep. Mike Dobrinski, R-Okeene, will make the dedication address.

Grimes grew up in the Lacey area working on his father’s farm and his memorial highway sign will be located west of Hennessey on State Highway 51 between State Highway 132 and Lacey.

Grimes returned to his home state in December 2020 after retiring from the military.

That was also when his youngest child graduated from high school.

The colonel’s retirement was short when his family moved to Enid where he became chief operations offi cer at Davis Business Law from 2020-24.

Grimes was a 1984 HHS graduate and valedictorian and graduated from Oklahoma State University in December 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in speech communication and an Asian Area Study Certificate.

He married his college sweetheart, Kathy, in July 1989 and started law school in August of that year.

He earned his juris doctorate from the University of Kansas School of Law in May 1992.

Grimes was appointed to the United States Air Force as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) in October 1992.

He was commissioned as a 1st lieutenant, then rose to the rank of colonel during his 28-year military career.

In May 2000, he earned a master’s degree in organizational management from The George Washington University while attending the Air Force Intern Program associated with the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

He attended The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

After earning a master’s in military and international operational law in May 2003, he was asked to stay on as a law professor.

Grimes was sent to the Azores off the coast of Portugal after a two-year teaching assignment.

In 2007, Grimes fulfi lled his dream of being stationed in Japan. He and his family departed for the first of two tours at Yokota AFB, outside Tokyo.

During that time, he was deployed to Iraq for six months while his family remained on base.

A one-year move to Hawaii followed, which was his first opportunity to run his own legal office.

While in Hawaii, he was promoted to his final rank of colonel.

Grimes had other assignments, including those at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, Texas, and Barksdale AFB in Louisiana.

He was awarded a second assignment in Japan, where he led his own office, and was the senior legal counsel in Japan.

His final station was in Ramstein, Germany, where he spent three years serving as a deputy to a four-star general.

A few of his commendations include: Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Meritorious Service Medal.

After returning to Oklahoma he was a frequent player at the Lacey Community Center card parties and was a sought-after “Career Day” speaker at Hennessey High School.

Grimes passed away Jan. 31, 2024, at the age of 57.

Among those surviving him were his wife, Kathy; sons Bailey (Carlee), Cole (Hannah), Dylan (Julianne) and Austin (Kenadie); his father, Chuck (Beverly); sisters Stacy (Perry) Cline and Jenny (Ryan) White; and two granddaughters.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Betty Lou (Miller) Grimes, an unborn sister and grandparents.