Joahan Grimm McDole, age 79 of Mobile, won her battle against dementia on April 28, 2026. She passed gently and was surrounded by love.

Joahan was born on September 21, 1946, just a hundred feet from the banks of the Mighty Mississippi in New Orleans. The eldest child of the late Suell R. Grimm II (an officer in the Coast Guard) and the late Joyce W. Grimm (a wonderfully skilled homemaker) Joahan’s formative years were marked by near-constant change. Her daddy was stationed in Alaska, Seattle, Norfolk, Williamsburg, Chicago, and Detroit (just to name a few.) Because of this, Joahan was the perennial “New Girl” at her schools. Being uprooted so frequently helped forge in her the ability to meet and befriend people everywhere she went. (Friendships she managed to nurture and grow throughout the years; even children she met in elementary school still keep up with her all these years later.) Whether she was a skinny first grader with bangs that had been hacked to death with kitchen shears, or a petite pretty Junior in high school, people were always drawn to Joahan.

After high school, Joahan earned a degree in Radio & Television Production from USM in Hattiesburg. She eventually settled back in her beloved city of New Orleans and worked as a secretary for not one, but four criminal attorneys on Tulane Avenue. A partner at one of the firms asked if he could set Joahan up on a date with one of his acquaintances and she acquiesced. She was introduced to Jim McDole. And although she did NOT care for the white leather loafers he wore on the date, he would go on to be her husband of 40 years until his death in 2016. Less than 6 months after meeting, Jim’s job took him to Scotland, and he invited Joahan to join him. Never one to turn down “the next big adventure” Joahan packed her bags and moved 4,000 miles away. In Scotland, she studied music, made innumerable friendships, and developed a love for gardening, antiquing, and scuba diving. After a few years in Scotland, Jim was recruited to work in Bahrain, so they were on the move again. Joahan adapted well and garnered a job with The Ministry of Public Health (quite the coup for an American woman in an Arab country in the 1970’s.) Additionally, she and Jim were recruited as part of a Safety Team to accompany an Australian swimmer who was filming a fitness documentary, planning to swim 14 miles from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain. The safety team’s role was to “deflect sharks and other sea critters that might distract her.” They did complete the entire swim and lost not a soul to the sharks.

The late 1970’s found Joahan, inexplicably, in the Arkansas Ozarks. Jim had always dreamed of retiring to a cattle ranch, and our Southern Belle was introduced to being a Country Girl. They moved into a small farmhouse that had been occupied by a group of feral cats, who had used it as their exclusive litter box. Ten days after moving to “the farm” Joahan typed a letter to a friend back in Scotland proclaiming the move to be “Awful. Just awful! I imagined it would be hard, but not like this.” Joahan’s fortitude and faith kept her afloat as they fixed up the house, planted a massive garden, and tended to the myriad animals on 400 acres. She learned to drive a tractor, bale and load hay, and tend to nearly every aspect required to run a ranch. In 1981, the found herself an “insta-mom” to a 4 year-old named Randi, whom they officially adopted a few years later. Eventually, Joahan found time to open an antiques shop in Huntsville, Arkansas, where she sold from the trove of collectibles they had acquired abroad. She ran The Village Gift Shoppe until the early 1990’s, when she was recruited to serve as the Director of Corporate Relations for a higher education technologies company based in Dallas, TX. She commuted 360 miles every single week to be home with her family on the weekends.

In 1996, following Randi’s graduation from high school, Jim & Joahan moved to the Gulf Coast to be nearer to Joahan’s daddy who was living with Alzheimer’s. Joahan immersed herself in the local culture: joining First Baptist Church of Pascagoula, the Gautier Garden Club, The United States Power Squadron of Gautier, a ladies investment club, and even finding time to chair the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. When not volunteering, she attended classes at the nearby community college and got involved with the real estate business. She continued working in that field until 2015, when her final sale was that of their bayou-front home in Gautier. Joahan lived for a couple of years in D’Iberville, MS before moving to Mobile to live with her daughter, Randi, and son-in-law, Marc.

Joahan was preceded in death by her loving parents, Suell & Joyce Grimm; her beloved husband of 40 years, Jim McDole, and her younger brother, Ross Grimm.

She is survived by Jim’s children from his prior marriage, Lisa McDole Powell of Santee, CA, and James Michael McDole of Ventura, CA, and her daughter, Randi McDole Watkins (Marc) of Mobile, AL. She is also survived by her sister, Jacquelyne Pittman (Brad) of Hattiesburg, MS, and dear sister-in-law, Diane Grimm of Ocean Springs. Joahan leaves behind 5 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren (from Jim’s side), 4 grandchildren (Marc’s children), 6 nieces & nephews, and 12 great-nieces & nephews.

The family wishes to recognize and extend heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Danny Bryan of Mobile and Ms. Barbara Tart of Mobile; both of whom showed to Joahan a depth of loving care and kindness that others reserve only for family. They both gave so much of their time, love, and concern to Joahan; it was a gift to witness.

Celebration of Joahan’s life will be held at 11:00 am on Thursday, May 7, 2026, at Riemann Family Funeral Homes, 274 Beauvoir Rd., Biloxi, MS 39531, with visitation beginning at 10:00 am. Graveside service will follow at Biloxi National Cemetery. Following the burial, the family would like to invite friends back to the funeral home for a reception from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm.

An online guestbook may be signed and memories shared at www.riemannfamily.com .

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Joahan’s memory to The Alzheimer’s Association (www.act.alz.org) or to the Jackson County Animal Shelter in Gautier MS. (To donate by check, make checks payable to Jackson County Animal Shelter, and mail to 4400 Audubon Lane, Gautier MS 39553 or call 228.497.6350)