Paul Grimes, 77; Editor, Writer Helped Found Conde Nast Traveler

Paul Grimes, 77, a former travel editor and writer who helped establish the magazine Conde Nast Traveler after years of writing the Practical Traveler column for the New York Times, died Tuesday in Abington, Pa., of complications from hip surgery.

Born in New York City, Grimes served as a sergeant in the Army in Europe in World War II before graduating from Cornell University. He worked as a reporter and copy editor for the Kansas City Star and Women’s Wear Daily before joining the New York Times as a copy editor on the city desk.

Grimes became a foreign correspondent for the Times in 1960, and was one of the first group of reporters admitted to Bhutan. He started the Practical Traveler column in 1977, and wrote it for 10 years before going to Conde Nast.

At Conde Nast Traveler, Grimes was the magazine’s founding news editor and then editor at large, a post he held until two years ago.