St. Paul HOF: Grimesey's year at St. Paul transformed his career

Editor's note: This is the fourth of eight profiles on the upcoming St. Paul Hall of Fame Class of 2021 inductees. NORWALK — Having spent his formative years on a dairy farm, Robert Grimesey grew up with a heavy interest in both farming and hunting.But after spending one year as a student at St. Paul High School, that interest changed. As a result, the late Grimesey embarked on a career path that saw him become an influential figure in nuclear physics both across the U.S. and the world.His achievements have also landed him a spot in the St. Paul High School 2021 Hall of Fame class as a distinguished inductee.Born in 1928 in Mentor, Grimesey attended grade school at Coleman's Catholic School in Cleveland. He attended junior high in West Salem near Ashland, then his family moved to Newbury in 1936It was in Newbury where Grimesey grew up working on a dairy farm and acquired his affinity for country life. But then his family moved to Norwalk in 1946, where he spent his senior year of high school at St. Paul.At. St. Paul, one of his teachers, Sister Mary Francella, introduced Grimesey to electronics. Francella quickly noted Grimesey's avid interest and knowledge in the subject, so much that several times during the school year she had him take over teaching the class.After his graduation from St. Paul in 1947, Grimesey enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1948. He became an electronics technician and served as the navigator of the USS Strong (DD-758) Destroyer ship until 1952. That tenure included the ship's mission in foreign waters during the Korean Conflict.When Grimesey came home on leave, he made sure to stop in and visit Francella's class at St. Paul.After returning home, Grimesey attended John Carroll University in University Heights. He graduated from there with a Master's degree in nuclear physics in 1957.Grimesey married Sandusky native Kathleen Kromer in October 1957, and they moved to Idaho Falls shortly after. He was employed at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory in reactor physics for 34 years until his retirement in 1991.During his physics career, Grimesey was one of two scientists appointed to a Department of Energy project at Brookhaven National Lab on Long Island, N.Y. It was here that Grimesey designed a mathematical algorithm to calculate the cross sections of the elements in the core of a nuclear reactor. The algorithm is currently still used and became a staple for physicists across the globe.At INEL in Idaho, Grimesey belonged to the reactor physics group that created conceptual designs of new reactor systems and analysis for radiation shielding of reactor systems.Grimesey also received a Veteran of Foreign Wars award in 1970 for saving a fellow hunter's life at a remote camping site in Montana. He performed an emergency tracheotomy in October 1972.During his retirement years, Grimesey strongly advocated for nuclear power generation as a source of clean energy.In 1997, Grimesey married Mary Jane Scouten in Libby, Montana, where they lived until Jane's death in 2004. Grimesey died at the age of 80 in his home in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho on July 4, 2009.He was survived by his five children: Margaret Villa, Andrew Grimesey, Eileen Reid, Rachel Grimesey and Logan Grimesey; stepdaughters Heather and Holly Scouten, and his five grandchildren.