Hope CommUnity Center mourns loss of founder Sister Monica Gail Grimes
FUTURECAST. HOUR BY HOUR IN JUST A COUPLE OF MINUTES. CENTRAL FLORIDA’S IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES LOST ONE OF ITS GREATEST CHAMPIONS OVER THE WEEKEND, A HUGE LOSS. SISTER MONICA GAIL GRIMES, OR SISTER GAIL, AS WE ALL CALLED HER, PASSED AWAY PEACEFULLY YESTERDAY AT THE AGE OF 88. IN THE EARLY 1970S, THREE ROMAN CATHOLIC NUNS CAME TO APOPKA TO WORK WITH FARM WORKERS AND THE WORKING POOR. THEY FOUNDED WHAT IS TODAY THE HOPE COMMUNITY CENTER. SISTER GAIL WAS ONE OF THOSE NUNS AND WAS ALSO INSTRUMENTAL IN THE CREATION OF THE FARM ASSOCIATION OF FLORIDA. SHE WAS PART OF THE FIGHT AGAINST SEGREGATION IN APOPKA AND ALSO WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE COMMUNITY TO HELP START A LOCAL HEALTH CLINIC. SO PEOPLE OF COLOR AND LOW INCOME FAMILIES COULD FINALLY ACCESS CARE WITH DIGNITY. THE COMMUNITY CENTER, WRITING IN A STATEMENT, QUOTE, SHE OFTEN REMINDED US IT’S LOVE AND ITS BELIEF IN EACH OTHER THAT ALL OF US HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE, THAT WE ARE LEARNERS AND WE ARE TEACHERS. AND I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF SEEING HER YESTERDAY MORNING BEFORE SHE PASSED LATER IN THE AFTERNOON, GIVING HER A BIG HUG AND A KISS AND THANKING HER, YOU KNOW, FOR HER INCREDIBLE SERVICE. AND I THINK IT’S THAT SERVICE THAT SHE WOULD WANT ME TO TALK ABOUT THIS MORNING. I COULD GO ON AND ON ABOUT HER AND ALL HER INCREDIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR COMMUNITY, BUT I THINK SHE WOULD WANT ME TO SIT HERE AND TELL YOU THAT IF YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT THE HOPE COMMUNITY CENTER, WHICH YOU AND I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT ALL MORNING, PLEASE LOOK THEM UP AND LOOK FOR ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT YOU’LL FIND THERE TO VOLUNTEER TO GIVE TO THEIR FOOD BANK. I MEAN, IT’S ENDLESS AND IT IS SO REWARDING. SHE WILL BE DEARLY MISSED, BUT HER LEGACY IS THAT SERVICE. SO HOPE
Hope CommUnity Center mourns loss of founder Sister Monica Gail Grimes
Updated: 6:57 AM EDT Jul 6, 2026
Central Florida’s immigrant community lost one of its greatest champions over the weekend.Sister Monica Gail Grimes passed away peacefully on Sunday at the age of 88.In the early 1970s, three Roman Catholic nuns came to Apopka to work with farmworkers and the working poor. They founded what is now the Hope CommUnity Center. Sister Gail was one of those nuns and was also instrumental in the creation of the Farmworker Association of Florida. She was part of the fight against segregation in Apopka and also worked closely with the community to help start a local health clinic so that people of color and low-income families could finally access care with dignity.The community center wrote in a statement: “She often reminded us, ‘it’s love, and it’s belief in each other, that all of us have something to give, that we are learners and we are teachers.'” “What made Sister Gail extraordinary was not only what she accomplished, but how she lived. She led with humility, joy, and unwavering conviction. Even after retirement, she continued to show up because she believed the work of justice was never finished.”
APOPKA, Fla. —
Central Florida’s immigrant community lost one of its greatest champions over the weekend.
Sister Monica Gail Grimes passed away peacefully on Sunday at the age of 88.
In the early 1970s, three Roman Catholic nuns came to Apopka to work with farmworkers and the working poor.
They founded what is now the Hope CommUnity Center. Sister Gail was one of those nuns and was also instrumental in the creation of the Farmworker Association of Florida.
She was part of the fight against segregation in Apopka and also worked closely with the community to help start a local health clinic so that people of color and low-income families could finally access care with dignity.
The community center wrote in a statement: “She often reminded us, ‘it’s love, and it’s belief in each other, that all of us have something to give, that we are learners and we are teachers.'”
“What made Sister Gail extraordinary was not only what she accomplished, but how she lived. She led with humility, joy, and unwavering conviction. Even after retirement, she continued to show up because she believed the work of justice was never finished.”