Heaven gained a beautiful soul as Ava Ilene Grimshaw transitioned peacefully early Tuesday morning, July 2, 2019, surrounded by her loving family.

She was born April 15th, 1944 in Rosebud South Dakota in the middle of a blizzard to Mildred and Eugene (Ode) Cooper.  After her father's passing in 1952, when Ava was 8 years old, she moved with her family to Mission, SD. She grew up in Mission and later graduated from Todd County High School. She went to work at Farmer's State Bank while still in high school and enjoyed working there for nearly 20 years.  She met and married Kelly Grimshaw in 1963 and her daughter, Dawn, was born shortly thereafter. Her son, Michael, was born in June of 1969.

Ava and her children moved to Montana in 1982 and she worked at Yellowstone Bank until she moved back to South Dakota in 1988. She resided and worked for First National Bank in Sioux Falls until her retirement in 2010. In 2016, she moved to Rapid City to be closer to family and she enjoyed the strong community of friends she had at Echo Glenn.  She enjoyed reading, playing cards, cooking, flower arranging and socializing. Many people who knew Ava said she was one of the kindest people they'd ever met.

Ava is survived by her daughter, Dawn Grimshaw of Seattle, Washington and son Michael Grimshaw of Tampa, Florida; three grandchildren, Ashley (Aaron) Klein, Josh, and McKenzie Grimshaw and great-grandson Logan. Additionally survived by five sisters, Rita Bracha of Rygate, Montana, Iva (Jim) Fernen of Rapid City, South Dakota, Sally Herman, and Janice Adair both of Mission, South Dakota and Patsy (Willie) Kindle of White River, South Dakota.

She was preceded in death by her mother and father, Mildred and Eugene (Ode) Cooper and two brothers, Daniel and Tom Cooper.

Visitation will be on Monday, July 8 from 5-7pm at Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home.

Christian funeral mass will be offered on Thursday, July 11 at 10 am at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Valentine, NE with lunch then graveside services to follow in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Nenzel, NE.