![\"Sister](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783422193_909_Gail-Grimes-photo-1024x683.png\")
Sister Monica Gail Grimes, co-founder of Hope\u00a0CommUnity\u00a0Center\u00a0<\/p>\nSister Monica Gail Grimes, co-founder of Hope\u00a0CommUnity\u00a0Center\u00a0<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Hope\u00a0CommUnity\u00a0Center\/Facebook<\/p>\n
Sister Monica Gail Grimes, a founding leader of Hope\u00a0CommUnity\u00a0Center whose decades of advocacy helped shape\u00a0efforts to address\u00a0racial injustice, poverty and immigration\u00a0in Apopka, died peacefully Sunday. She was 88.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Known throughout Central Florida simply as \u201cSister Gail,\u201d Grimes spent more than five decades working alongside Black communities, low-income families and immigrants while helping build\u00a0Hope\u00a0CommUnity\u00a0Center<\/a>\u00a0into one of the region\u2019s best-known nonprofit organizations.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a statement, Hope\u00a0CommUnity\u00a0Center Executive Director Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet\u00a0said\u00a0Grimes\u2019\u00a0influence\u00a0reached far beyond the organization she helped\u00a0establish.\u00a0<\/p>\n Become A Member<\/p>\n The Apopka Chief does not have a paywall, but pavement-pounding journalism is not free. Join your neighbors who make this vital work possible.<\/p>\n See Member Benefits<\/a>Join Our Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cFrom fighting segregation in Apopka to expanding access to healthcare, her legacy is woven into the fabric of this community,\u201d Sousa-Lazaballet\u00a0said. \u201cWhat made Sister Gail extraordinary was not only what she accomplished, but how she lived. She led with humility, joy, and unwavering conviction.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Sousa-Lazaballet\u00a0said Grimes continued advocating for justice even after retirement\u00a0\u201cbecause she believed the work was never finished.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Hope\u00a0CommUnity\u00a0Center also recalled one of the lessons she repeated throughout her life, according to Sousa-Lazaballet:\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s love, and it\u2019s belief in each other, that all of us have something to give, that we are learners and we are teachers.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n According to a 2014 oral history interview conducted by the University of Central Florida, Grimes came to Central Florida in 1975 after the Diocese of Orlando asked members of her religious order to\u00a0come to Central Florida. She explained that the ministry was founded with the understanding that it would serve anyone in need, regardless of religious affiliation. The organization later evolved into Hope\u00a0CommUnity\u00a0Center, expanding its mission to include low-income residents and immigrant families throughout Central Florida.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Throughout the interview, Grimes\u00a0reflected on decades spent confronting\u00a0injustice, from farmworker exploitation to Apopka\u2019s entrenched segregation and unequal public services. While her ministry was rooted in farmworker advocacy, she repeatedly stressed how Black residents\u2014especially Black farmworkers\u2014had been marginalized in the city\u2019s historical narrative, and she emphasized that each generation should have greater opportunity and dignity than the last.\u00a0<\/p>\n The organization Grimes helped\u00a0establish\u00a0grew from the Office for Farmworker Ministry into Hope\u00a0CommUnity\u00a0Center, a nonprofit serving immigrants, low-income families and other underserved residents through education, legal\u00a0assistance, youth\u00a0programs\u00a0and community services. It now\u00a0operates\u00a0two campuses in Apopka, on South Hawthorne Avenue and North Park Avenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0city of Apopka honored Grimes in a social media tribute Monday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe remember and honor Sister Gail of Hope\u00a0CommUnity\u00a0Center for the deep impact that she bestowed on our community and neighboring communities,\u201d\u00a0the city posted on its Facebook page.\u00a0<\/p>\n Commenters\u00a0also filled Hope\u00a0CommUnity\u00a0Center\u2019s Facebook page with messages remembering her compassion and service.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI am very sorry to hear this. I have good memories of her when I was in AmeriCorps,\u201d Andrea Carrier wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n Betty Martinez Lowery added, \u201cI am so sorry to hear this news. May her wonderful memory continue to be a blessing to all who knew and loved this remarkable woman.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Others offered shorter but heartfelt tributes, including \u201cRIP Sister Gail,\u201d from Martin Solomon, and \u201cSister\u00a0Gail,\u00a0your love and dedication will never be forgotten,\u201d from Rosana Siberio.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hope\u00a0CommUnity\u00a0Center said its thoughts are with Sister Ann Kendrick, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur,\u00a0Grimes\u2019\u00a0loved ones and all those whose lives she touched. Memorial arrangements will be announced when they become available.\u00a0<\/p>\n Teresa Sargeant has been with The Apopka Chief for over 10 years.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/6.png\")
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