Sister Monica Gail Grimes, a founding leader of Hope CommUnity Center whose decades of advocacy helped shape efforts to address racial injustice, poverty and immigration in Apopka, died peacefully Sunday. She was 88.  

Known throughout Central Florida simply as “Sister Gail,” Grimes spent more than five decades working alongside Black communities, low-income families and immigrants while helping build Hope CommUnity Center into one of the region’s best-known nonprofit organizations. 

In a statement, Hope CommUnity Center Executive Director Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet said Grimes’ influence reached far beyond the organization she helped establish. 

“From fighting segregation in Apopka to expanding access to healthcare, her legacy is woven into the fabric of this community,” Sousa-Lazaballet said. “What made Sister Gail extraordinary was not only what she accomplished, but how she lived. She led with humility, joy, and unwavering conviction.”  

Sousa-Lazaballet said Grimes continued advocating for justice even after retirement “because she believed the work was never finished.” 

Hope CommUnity Center also recalled one of the lessons she repeated throughout her life, according to Sousa-Lazaballet: “It’s love, and it’s belief in each other, that all of us have something to give, that we are learners and we are teachers.”  

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 come 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 CommUnity Center, expanding its mission to include low-income residents and immigrant families throughout Central Florida.  

Throughout the interview, Grimes reflected on decades spent confronting injustice, from farmworker exploitation to Apopka’s entrenched segregation and unequal public services. While her ministry was rooted in farmworker advocacy, she repeatedly stressed how Black residents—especially Black farmworkers—had been marginalized in the city’s historical narrative, and she emphasized that each generation should have greater opportunity and dignity than the last. 

The organization Grimes helped establish grew from the Office for Farmworker Ministry into Hope CommUnity Center, a nonprofit serving immigrants, low-income families and other underserved residents through education, legal assistance, youth programs and community services. It now operates two campuses in Apopka, on South Hawthorne Avenue and North Park Avenue. 

The city of Apopka honored Grimes in a social media tribute Monday.  

“We remember and honor Sister Gail of Hope CommUnity Center for the deep impact that she bestowed on our community and neighboring communities,” the city posted on its Facebook page. 

Commenters also filled Hope CommUnity Center’s Facebook page with messages remembering her compassion and service. 

“I am very sorry to hear this. I have good memories of her when I was in AmeriCorps,” Andrea Carrier wrote. 

Betty Martinez Lowery added, “I 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.” 

Others offered shorter but heartfelt tributes, including “RIP Sister Gail,” from Martin Solomon, and “Sister Gail, your love and dedication will never be forgotten,” from Rosana Siberio. 

Hope CommUnity Center said its thoughts are with Sister Ann Kendrick, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Grimes’ loved ones and all those whose lives she touched. Memorial arrangements will be announced when they become available.