Nancy Grimes loved people, and she loved her family most of all. Nancy's parents, Ann and Maurice Ruby, created an idyllic childhood for Nancy and her three siblings (Trisha Brindley, Ed Ruby, and Doug Ruby) in Tarrytown, in Austin. This was the '60s, when all the kids roamed the neighborhood together and made memories and relationships that Nancy still talked about with people she still kept up with. Anyone who's had lunch with Nancy in Austin in recent years (especially her daughter, Kelly) has likely been kidnapped after lunch to drive around Tarrytown and re-live old memories.

Following in the footsteps of her mother and older sister, Nancy attended the University of Texas. There she met Randy Grimes, to whom she was married for almost three decades and with whom she had her two daughters, Lacey and Kelly, who remained the focus of her life until the end. Growing up, Nancy always knew that she wanted to be a full-time mom; she cherished that role and those relationships over all others.

Nancy's relationships with her siblings were also extremely important to her; she spoke to them often and found ways to be involved in their lives. When her brother Ed was a football coach at Georgetown High School, Nancy often showed up unexpectedly with homemade cookies and baked goods for Ed to share with all the coaches.

Beyond family, Nancy loved talking to people and hearing their stories – close friends, church acquaintances, and even strangers in the H-E-B checkout line. She had a wry, witty sense of humor that never left her – even in her last weeks in the hospital, she constantly cracked jokes and made friends with hospital staff who soon began stopping by the room just to chat. She never met anybody that wasn't soon a friend.

Nancy appreciated simple pleasures: perhaps to the surprise of her childhood friends, she was a voracious reader who could often be found sitting with library books in San Gabriel Park. She loved her daily H-E-B trips, her Sonic teas, watching UT football with family, and playing backgammon with her daughter Kelly. Her favorite months of the year were school months when she worked as an aide at First Baptist Church's preschool, where she could pop in on her daughter Lacey's classroom and see the three grandchildren she adored: Paul, Clara, and Lee.

Nancy spent the last 13 years with her significant other, Merlin Lester, who cared for her during her cancer treatments 6 years ago. They enjoyed taking trips to Fredericksburg, watching Jeopardy and Gunsmoke, and eating out with friends. When the cancer returned in Nancy's last weeks, Merlin supported her and remained lovingly by her side until the end.

Nancy worshipped next to her brother and sister-in-law, Ed and Louann, at Crestview Baptist Church, where we will celebrate her life at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 29. After the service, family and friends are invited to gather at the church and share memories of Nancy.

In honor of Nancy's life and love of books, please send donations in her name to the Georgetown Public Library, the Friends of the Georgetown Public Library, or a charity of your choice. If you'd like to give to the library, you can donate online at folgeorgetown.org or in person at the public library at 402 W. 8 ^th St.