Linda "Neko" Mae Grimm

Linda Mae "Neko" Grimm, of Birmingham, Alabama, passed away peacefully June 16, 2024, after battling cancer for the second time. She was born on March 11, 1957, on the island of Okinawa. Linda is survived by her mother and stepfather, Haruko and Willard Ford; her brother and sister-in-law, Donald and Arlene Grimm; her half-sister, Kathy (Ray) Koffler, her brother-in-law, Johnny Williams; three nephews, and many friends throughout the country. Linda was preceded in death by her husband and sweetheart, Davey Williams; her father, Kenneth Grimm; and her nephew, Adam Donohue.

Linda worked as massage therapist and as a prolific poet, storyteller, visual artist, and arts producer. In Tampa, Florida, she produced and directed multi-disciplinary performances with The Black Madonna

Project, Stage works Theater, Apollo State Theater, and Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. In Birmingham, Alabama, she produced and co-directed the first V-Day College Initiative presentation and fundraiser in the state and founded Sister City Connection Spoken Word Collective to advocate for women connecting with one another in spirituality and artistic expression.

As a visual artist, she began working with acrylics and mixed media, but in 2005, she turned to primarily creating scanographic montages. “Imago Ignota” (Unknown Image) was her constant and ongoing inspiration as she created images based on her interpretations of nature and goddesses. She was a member of Fresh Dirt Surrealist group exhibitions, which hosts a sample of her many scanographic montages. Finally, Linda had envisioned creating Sister City Matrix to connect and support women poets in Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee.

A private family viewing will be held at John Ridout’s Funeral Home before she is cremated and her ashes placed in a family cemetery with her husband’s in Eutaw, Alabama. The date for a celebration of her life will be announced soon. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama or East Village Arts.

Linda will be remembered for her unwavering love of her family, friends, and community. Her legacy will live on through her poetic and artistic work as well as in the hearts of those who knew and loved her.