Jacob L. Grimm, recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1997, is a Renaissance man in every sense of the term. He has been a bomber pilot, a military historian, an archaeologist, and a community pharmacist. During World War II, Grimm was a bomber pilot with the 483rd Flying Fortress Bomb Group in Italy. While on a mission to Vienna in 1945, he and his crew crash-landed and were missing in action for 23 days in Hungary. After the war, the group returned to the site twice–once in 1986 and again in 1992. The reunions were a result of the correspondence between Grimm and a museum curator who helped him to locate those who fed and sheltered the group while they were missing in action. The government of Hungary honored Grimm upon each visit. In 1971, Grimm was elected a fellow of the Company of Military Historians. Later, because he was the archivist for the 483rd Bomb Group Association, the Museum of Aviation at Warner Robins Air Force Base in Georgia asked Grimm to prepare a permanent exhibit representing the 483rd. In 1997, he was honored by the Museum of Aviation with a plaque placed at the entrance to his exhibit. During the same year, he published a book of crew histories, titled Heroes of the 483rd. Furthermore, in Pennsylvania, Grimm served as the Director of Archaeology at Fort Ligonier and during the restoration of Hannastown, noted to be the first county seat west of the Allegheny Mountains.

While working at the Fort Ligonier site, Grimm authored the text, Archaeological Investigation of Fort Ligonier. In 1962, Grimm was awarded the Archey Award from the Pennsylvania Archaeological Society. However, beyond all of his other accomplishments, Jacob Grimm was also a community pharmacist for over forty years. After earning a B.S. from the School of Pharmacy in 1950, he became a partner in several pharmacies with his brother and father–both of whom, in addition to ten other family members, are graduates of the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. In 1975, he opened the Oak Grove Pharmacy near Ligonier. Although Grimm sold the pharmacy in 1986, he continued to work there until he retired in 1996. Presently, Grimm devotes much of his time to the Elmer H. Grimm, Sr. Pharmacy Museum at the School of Pharmacy–which bears his father’s name and was established by his nephew, Donald W. Grimm PHA'63 and his nephew’s wife, Kathryn. Grimm is currently the archivist for the museum and has contributed many objects from his personal collection. Moreover, Grimm has received much recognition for his work including a citation awarded in 1976 for meritorious community service from Westmoreland County Community College, and an honorary Doctor of Science degree awarded in 1981 from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. Jacob Grimm and his wife Beverly live in Ligonier, PA.