Carol Ann Grinaker

Carol Ann Grinaker quietly passed away in her sleep during the evening of February 26, 2026.  She had been in hospice care at her home in Katy, TX, and, on the day of her death, she was gently embraced by the love of her family. She was 79 years old.

 

Carol had a way of connecting with people, starting especially while in college at The University of Texas in Austin, with a group of life-long friends who dubbed themselves “The Yo-Yo Sisterhood.”  

 

That was about the time her love of, and participation in, theater especially took hold.  She went on to pursue graduate studies in theater while at the University of Houston, where she often took on the role of Assistant Director (AD) for several of the college’s theater productions, learning at the side of two of the talented and beloved Professors of Theater there, Sidney Berger, and Cecil Pickett.  

 

She ultimately took the practical advice of her accounting professor father and went on to get a Master’s of Accounting degree (so that she could get a job anywhere).

 

And that’s exactly what she used her accounting education to do: to give her the job security to head off to and live in one of the great theater cities of the world, New York City.  

 

In 1977, about the time that The Mary Tyler Moore Show was winding down, Carol became the Grinaker family’s very own “Mary Richards,” when at the age of 30 and single, as a strong, independent young woman, she followed her heart to New York City.  

 

She didn’t become directly involved in theater there, but she kept herself close, and, with other dear friends, she thoroughly enjoyed the “New York theater experience” for many years.  

 

In time, she moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn, and while in Brooklyn, after becoming a part of a church there, she once again connected deeply with a group of people.    

 

It was amongst this group of people and their support that her “servant heart” came to the surface and began to flourish.   

 

She left a very comfortable and steady corporate paycheck in order to follow her heart into nursing (sometimes questioning that move later in life, but only fleetingly,

;-)).  

 

Always “whip smart,” as one of her “Yo-Yo sisters” calls her, Carol graduated at the top of her nursing class and went on to practice as an RN - first in Manhattan at St. Vincent’s Hospital, and, ultimately, in Houston, TX, where much of her family lived.  

 

She became an RN at the prestigious TIRR hospital (The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research) within the Houston Medical Center.  

 

She loved working with patients as a rehab nurse, easily making meaningful connections with so many of them.  Her servant heart naturally flourished in that role.    

 

Eventually, however, as she became older, the challenging physical work of a rehab nurse prompted a new direction for her.    

 

She wanted to remain in the medical field, and, in particular, she wanted to remain at TIRR.  So she took advantage of her earlier corporate skills as a systems analyst, and made them an asset for TIRR.   

 

She joined their systems development group and helped to create a new platform for TIRR’s medical staff to use. She was very proud of being a key developer of TIRR’s new system at the time, which she got to dub “Intrepid.”   

 

Intrepid.  Adjective.  

characterized by resolute fearlessness, fortitude, and endurance.  

 

It’s a word so fitting for Carol herself, and how she approached so much of her life overall.  

 

Carol is preceded in death by her father, Robert “Bob” Grinaker, her mother, Virginia “Ginny” Grinaker, and her brother, John Grinaker.    

 

She is survived by her two sisters, Nancy Wilkins and Linda Grinaker, and Nancy’s children and grandchildren: Jenny Long and her children, Cody Camp, and Cody’s wife, DeeDee, Cooper Camp, and Mallory Long, and Jenny’s husband, Justin; as well as Jeff Wilkins and his children, Cailin Wilkins, Chase Wilkins, Avery Wilkins, their mother, Ashlee Hackett Harden, and Jeff’s wife, Sarah.  

 

Carol’s service will occur on Saturday, April 11 (the first Saturday after Easter), at 11am at Katy First United Methodist Church, 5601 FIFTH STREET, Katy, TX, with Senior Pastor, Mark Kimbrough, and the Rev. Tom Pace presiding.