Velma Grindstaff Conrad of Celo, North Carolina, passed away peacefully on April 6, 2026, at the age of 86.
Velma was born on July 26, 1939, to Fred and Ellen Grindstaff, in a home overlooking the South Toe River, built by her father and, at the time, lacking both electricity and running water. Throughout her life, and especially in her later years, Velma would often reflect upon the character traits she admired in her parents and the influence her rural upbringing would have on her later life.
The natural curiosity she shared with her father led her to pursue an associate’s degree at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, where she met the love of her life, Carl, who became her husband of 65 years. She followed him to Boston and later to St. Louis, where they raised their children. Velma brought a remarkable gift for working with young people to her thirty-year career as an educator at Jackson Park Elementary School, where she ran a science lab filled with creative displays and hands-on materials. The space welcomed students before and after school, as well as for class visits. As a Sunday school teacher at Second Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, her message was simple and enduring: “All we need to know is that Jesus loves us and wants us to love each other.” She was deeply committed to her community and showed it through every day acts of care—sweeping walkways, mowing lawns, and spending time with elderly neighbors who needed companionship. She often involved her family in these acts of service, making care for others a shared value. After retiring in 2001, she returned to Yancey County and the home where she was born. There, she renewed and strengthened ties with her extended family and befriended neighbors old and new who often stopped to admire the landscape she created—full of flowers, shrubs, and her own distinctive, sometimes whimsical, touches.
In accordance with Velma’s wishes, no public memorial service will be held. Memorial donations may be made to My Neighbors, an all-volunteer elderly care network serving Yancey County, North Carolina, which provided support and friendship to Carl and Velma in recent years: https://myneighbors.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=305&club_id=776400&item_id=7126
Velma is survived by her son, Fred Conrad, of St. Louis; her daughter, Kathryn Conrad (Mark Corneliussen) of Tucson; her grandchildren: Grace and Zac Corneliussen and Aleah (Corneliussen) Canchola, all of Tucson; and two great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her sisters, Maphra Armstrong, Maxine Duncan, and Betty Frye, and her brothers, Philip and James Grindstaff.
To send online condolences, please visit: www.yanceyfuneralservice.com