Ahtoni Evelyn Virginia Grimm

Ahtoni (Evelyn) Virginia Grimm passed away peacefully on October 11, 2020 after several years of struggling with Alzheimer disease. She was in the arms of loved ones when she passed Ahtoni was born on August 19, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois to Kenneth Russell Jenson and Esther Marie (Warmuth) Jenson. She was the oldest of two children (sister Kathy). When she was a young girl her family moved from Chicago to Gary, Indiana. Then they moved to Rockford, Illinois, where she spent the rest of her childhood. She would often tell stories of fond memories of family reunions at the lake and spending time with her cousins. In high school she loved being involved with social activities. She was a member of the student council, president of the Future Nurses Club, and a chorus member in an invitation-only singing group called “A Capella”. Singing was something she loved and she had a beautiful singing voice. Ahtoni knew at a young age she wanted to be a nurse and after high school she enrolled in Rockford Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, which was a diploma-style nursing school that taught their students using hands-on experience. Ahtoni was a natural nurse with a special heart for taking care of people. She especially loved the moments in her nursing shifts where she could take extra time to comfort her patients. During nursing school one of her best friends from high school introduced Ahtoni (Evelyn) to Maynard (Dennis) Lloyd Grimm, who she would fall in love with and marry. Ahtoni and Maynard remained married for 33 years and had many fond memories of their life together raising a family. After they were married, and her husband was discharged from the Navy, the couple moved to Fairport, New York to start their life together. They purchased their first home and in 1974 their first child, Nicole, was born. Only 11 ½ months later their second child, Daniel, was born and Ahtoni would often say how she was in heaven with her two babies. She took a break from nursing to stay home and raise her children and it was a special time in her life she said went by too fast. In 1980 the family moved to Fremont, CA and in addition to raising her family Ahtoni worked part time at a family practice doctors office. During these years she was introduced to a spiritual group called the Ann Ree Colton Foundation of Niscience (Niscience) that would become her spiritual home and a large part of her life. After her children were grown and left home she felt a strong case of “empty nest syndrome”. She decided to go back to school at 50 years old and get a bachelor’s degree in Health Education. It was a hard challenge, being one of the few older people in classes with students the in their 20’s. Facing algebra was her biggest fear, but she was an excellent student and graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science. After graduating college and other major life changes she separated from her husband and moved to Los Angeles so she could be close to her spiritual group. She started a new career as a hospice admitting nurse. It was a lifelong dream to work with hospice. She felt it was her calling to help patients and their family members through the process of transitioning from life to death with as much love and dignity as possible. She would often share stories of her experiences working with hospice and how profound it was to be serving in that way. She retired from VITAS Healthcare in 2014 after working in hospice for 12 years. Her spiritual faith was very important to her and Ahtoni spent many years in Niscience as a member, board member, and elder of the group. They would travel several times a year for spiritual gatherings and took several spiritual pilgrimages abroad, including to Israel and the Holy Land, Italy, France, and Spain. After retiring, Ahtoni was able to move close by her son and his family in Post Falls, Idaho. She spent the last several years of her life close by her loved ones. Ahtoni is survived by her daughter Nicole (Regina) Grimm, son Daniel Grimm (daughter in law Ginnie Grimm), grandsons Jordan Grimm, Logan Grimm, and Brendan Grimm, sister Kathy (Jenson) Wojtel, nephews Eric Cowden and Ryan Callihan, nieces Angela (Grimm) Fairbanks and Jaimie Grimm, and her ex-husband Maynard (Dennis) Grimm with whom she remained friends. A memorial service will be held online through the Ann Ree Colton Foundation of Niscience on October 17, 2020 at 11 am. If you would like to attend contact Nicole Grimm at regina_nicole_gee@yahoo.com to request the login instructions. At a future date a celebration-of-life will also be held so family and friends can share stories and memories of Ahtoni.