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Edward Miller Grimm family and church histories, approximately 1945-2008

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 6025 Series 3

Scope and Contents

Includes family history stories for Grimm's children, Edward Miller Grimm II and Linda Grimm, as well as the Grimm family ancestors: the Lee, Grimm, Clegg, Nelson, Tate, and Shields families. Also included is a "History of the Philippines Mission 1931-1970," "The Amazing Tale of Pete Grimm," a group photograph of Church members in the Philippines, and several films made by Maxine Grimm about the Philippines and other family history subjects. Materials are dated approximately 1945 to 2008.

Dates

  • approximately 1945-2008

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to use material from this collection must be obtained from Reference Services at specialcollections@byu.edu.

Biographical History

From the Collection:

Edward Miller Grimm (1899-1977) served in both World War I and World War II. After the war, he continued to run his business in the Philippines, and later became instrumental in helping to introduce the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there.

Edward Miller Grimm, otherwise known as Pete, was born on May 17, 1899, in San Francisco, California, to Frederick Grimm and Ethel Eva Van Butler Grimm. As a young man, he attended school in San Francisco and worked in the city's dock yards. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Navy. Following the war, he traveled to the Philippines where he became the principle owner and operator of the Luzon Stevedoring Company, a business known for ship salvage operations and ocean tug-boat service. His company eventually expanded into mining, ship building, barge construction, and grain and flour mills. In February 1926, he married Juanita Kegley in Manila and they had two daughters, Ethel and Juanita. He also served as the Panamanian Consul in the Philippines for several years. During the second World War, he served as a U.S. Army colonel on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur; Colonel Grimm was primarily responsible for cargo and transportation in the Southwest Pacific. He participated in the liberation of Manila and in the winter of 1945, as Commandant of the liberated Santo Tomas University internment camp, he provided humanitarian aid to, and assisted in processing, Santo Tomas civilian internees and American and allied prisoners of war in the Philippines. With Charles Parson, he was instrumental in helping restore Manila’s destroyed piers and harbor facilities. In 1947, "Pete" met widow Maxine Tate Shields in Tacloban, Leyte, while she was serving with the Red Cross in public relations (aiding prisoners of war, civilian internees, and refugees). Following his divorce from Juanita in early July, Pete and Maxine married in Manila, Philippines, on July 25, 1947; they also had two children together (Edward Miller Grimm II (Pete Jr.) and Linda. Edward was not a member of the Church, but when two other American families moved into the area, Maxine began holding church meetings in their home with his support. Over 2,000 baptisms were performed in their own pool as no church buildings or fonts had been built. Pete also offered his car and driver to help the local mission president & matron get around. He was an active part of the Church with Maxine for many years, and was finally baptized in 1967. After some years in the Philippines, the Grimms moved back to Utah, where Edward became involved in various business activities, including development, finance, and insurance. He later served as a member of the Board of Directors for Bonneville International Corporation. He died on November 27, 1977, at the Makati Medical Center in Manila, Philippines, and was buried in Tooele City Cemetery in Utah.

Biographical History

From the Collection:

Maxine Tate Shields Grimm (1918-2017) was a prominent American figure who played a role in reintroducing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Philippines after World War II and restoring the Benson Grist Mill as a historical site in Tooele, Utah; she served on several advisory boards and committees.

Maxine Tate Shields Grimm was born on May 18, 1914, in Tooele, Utah, to Joseph Earl and Bertha Shields Tate. She graduated from high school in Tooele, Utah, in 1934 as valedictorian; from the University of Utah in 1937 with a Bachelor’s degree in retailing and business; and earned a Master's degree from New York University in retailing. In 1939, she married childhood sweetheart, Veldon Shields, who died a year later from natural causes. She then went to New York, where she helped her boss, the president of the Retail Association of New York, to aid European refugees into New York. After the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, she quit the business world of New York City and joined the Red Cross, which sent her to train at Ft. Bragg, NC, then to a New Guinea hospital, and then to a refugee camp in the Philippines. As the war ended, Grimm took over Tokyo Rose’s studio and broadcast, and used it to do public relations work for the Red Cross, mentioning her Latter-Day Saint heritage, and broadcasting Tabernacle Choir music. While in the Philippines, Grimm met and married Edward Miller "Pete" Grimm in 1947 in Manila, and together they had 2 children. After the war ended, Maxine and Pete contacted the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, requesting them to send missionaries to the area. They helped set up branches, and helped members who were stationed in the Philippines with the U.S. military. After Pete died in 1977, Maxine moved to Tooele in 1988, and devoted her time to community affairs. She served as a member of the BYU Roundtable, chaired the Tooele County Museum, sat on the Salt Lake Opera board, and was asked to chair the Utah State Centennial Commission. She was involved in the effort to save the Benson Grist Mill in Tooele, and saw that funds were dedicated to its restoration. She helped to write a script for the Benson Gristmill Pageant, which tells how the Tooele Valley was settled. She chaired the county's Safe at Home Committee in 2005, and in 2007 was named Citizen of the Year by the Tooele City Police Department. At age 96, she was still active in the Tooele community’s battle against the proposed Rocky Mountain Power Line route across the east bench of Tooele, citing her ancestors' work that she hoped to continue – to make Tooele a beautiful and peaceful place. Grimm died on February 10, 2017, at the age of 102, and was buried in Tooele Cemetery.

Extent

1 box

2 folders

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Includes 1 subseries: Maxine Tate Grimm films, approximately 1945-2008.

Repository Details

Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States