Novie Lazell Whitehead Grimwood

A very sassy, funny, independent and sometimes ornery Novie Lazell Whitehead Grimwood was born at home in Nacogdoches, Texas on September 29, 1926. After 97 years, she passed away November 21, 2023, with her daughter and granddaughter at her side. And she was still cracking jokes and teasing us until the very end!

When Novie graduated from high school in 1944, she was ready to be out on her own. She moved to Houston, Texas, and went to work for Brown and Root Supply. Her salary enabled her to buy her first car, a baby blue convertible, which she never let us forget!

A blind date led her to a handsome young man just back from serving in Korea; her future husband, Wayne Grimwood. They wed, and then welcomed a daughter, Sheryl, in 1958. Life moved them to Norman, Oklahoma, where their son, Michael, was born in 1962. Their family was complete. 

In Norman, Novie was involved in several civic groups, volunteered often at the hospital, and was an avid bridge player. She eventually went to work as a full-time secretary, and then administrative assistant in the Oklahoma State Senate, working the longest for Senator Herb Rozell. Her friendships there were lifelong and the adventures were endless. 

Novie was intensely devoted to her grandchildren, and loved them unconditionally. She also spoiled them often, growing up with trips to Braum’s for ice cream (sometimes more than once in a day), learning to drive her car in the fire station parking lot, and shopping trips to the mall for new clothes. She took them on trips to her childhood home in Texas and accompanied them to the beach a few times as well! She even drove her granddaughter to Colorado for her freshman year of College. When her great grandchildren were born, she loved them just as much. She said they were the loves of her life. 

The last two and a half years of Novie’s life were spent in Loveland, Colorado, near her granddaughter, Lea, and her husband and two sons. Her daughter and son-in-law also joined her to live in Loveland in 2022. She enjoyed trips up to see the mountains, going out for nice dinners, and even played the casinos a time or two. 

Our worlds became a little less bright and entertaining, following her death last November. But she went peacefully with her family and knew that she “had done it her way”.

Novie was preceded in death by her husband, Wayne; and her son, Michael. She is survived by her daughter, Sheryl (Gibbens) and son-in-law, Michael; her granddaughter, Lea Gibben and her husband Aaron; and great grandsons, Dylan Michael and Dakotah Phoenix; her grandson, Mark Gibbens and his wife Meagan, as well as great granddaughters, Violet Grace and Greta Rose. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Fort Collins, Parents Day Out (on the memo line), 1005 Stover St, Fort Collins, CO 80524.