Stacey Grimes-Wempe was born in Lampman, a small town (pop. 650) in Saskatchewan, Canada. Her grandfather was the mayor for many years and the family was extremely well known. He owned a farm equipment company called grimes Sales and Service selling everything from tractors to combine harvesters. Her father Mel took over the business when her grandfather died. Mel was a well-known and extremely popular figure in the province. In 1966 he became a pilot and would fly to customers with urgent parts for broken-down tractors, parachuting them down to the waiting farmer. In the mid 80s, Mel started another company, Southern Resources which sold pumpjacks which are used to extract oil from wells. Later with a new partner he started importing a unique new pumpjack featuring a curved walking beam with two counterweights. When Mel died, an obituary stated that, “The HG pumpjack changed the landscape of Saskatchewan.” Needless to say, the Grimes family were famous across the province. In 1990, she witnessed the SaskPower accident the Shand Power Station which was under construction. Office staff were working out of trailers and a 65-tonne crane fell and crushed the cafeteria next to where she was working as a receptionist. Two people died and six were seriously injured. Stacey was only nineteen at the time. Stacey has led a tumultuous life, one that has been plagued by grief, loss, and depression. Her brother died when he was 22 in a tragic accident. He drove into the side of a freight train in thick fog. The effect on Stacey was catastrophic and she went into severe depression. Four years later a close friend died in a motorcycle accident and another committed suicide. Tragedy seems to have followed her throughout her life. After several years she sought psychological help and later decided to become a life coach to help others. During this period, she married a dentist and became a dental hygienist. Today, her and her husband run a highly successful and busy dental practice. She recently bought back her father’s business, which was set to close down, in order to ensure the future of its staff. |
