Florida Supreme Court issued the following announcement on Sept. 10.
Former Florida Justice Stephen H. Grimes, 93, died Friday in Tallahassee. He was the 72nd Justice on the Florida Supreme Court since Florida received statehood in 1845.
Grimes served on the state’s highest court from 1987 to 1997. He led the state courts system as its Chief Justice from 1994 to 1996 during a period of great transition caused partly by the advent of the Internet.
In late 1994, Grimes authorized placement of a website for the Florida Supreme Court on the fledgling World-Wide Web, becoming one of the first courts in the world with an official web presence.
The first Florida Supreme Court website was a small collection of just over a dozen informational pages. But it soon expanded to provide public documents like court opinions at the same moment as their official release – a novelty at the time.
His tenure as Chief Justice also marked the start of long-term planning for the judicial branch, as mandated by a 1992 amendment to the state Constitution. That planning process continues to this day.
Grimes came to the Florida Supreme Court after a lengthy career as a lawyer with the Holland & Knight firm in Bartow and then as a judge on the Second District Court of Appeal in Lakeland starting in 1973.
He was a native of Peoria, Illinois, the son of Henry H. and June K. Grimes. He received his college education at the University of Florida where he was awarded his undergraduate degree in 1950 and his law degree in 1954.
Grimes married his wife Fay Fulghum of Lakeland while still in college. Together they had four daughters Gay, Mary June, Sue, and Sheri.
Grimes was appointed to the Second District Court of Appeal of Florida in October 1973. He served as chief judge there from 1978-80.
In early 1987, Governor Bob Martinez appointed Grimes to the Supreme Court. When he retired in November 1997, Grimes returned to work at Holland & Knight.
Services are pending with Bevis Funeral Home in Tallahassee.
Original source can be found here.