Alton A. Sims

Mr. Alton A. Sims, of Groesbeck, passed away Wednesday, June 15, 2011, at the Limestone Medical Center, at age 99. Visitation will be Friday, June 17, 2011, from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. at the Groesbeck Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, June 18, 2011, at the Lost Prairie Baptist Church, with Reverend Tracy Sims officiating. Interment will follow in the Lost Prairie Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Scott Byrd, Wesley Byrd, Benjamin Dolan, Nick Dolan, James Fewell, and Miguel Sanchez. Honorary pallbearers will be his 16 nephews. After nearly 100 years of life, Alton A. Sims of Groesbeck, Texas passed away peacefully. Born in the Lost Prairie Community on September 27, 1911, the fourth of 13 children to H.H. and Lurah Etta (Easterling) Sims, his life and that of his siblings is a testament to the value of family, faith, hard work and education. Like many rural families in the early 1900s, his was poor and life was difficult, but happy. A lifelong Baptist, Alton joined Lost Prairie Baptist Church as a young child. He attended schools in the Lost Prairie and Personville communities and graduated from Groesbeck High School in 1932. As a young adult, he picked cotton for 50 cents a day, traveling through the southwestern United States by hopping freight cars. When he was able, he started college at Sam Houston State, graduating with a degree in English. Like his older brothers, he worked his way through college, and then assisted his younger siblings with their education. As a result, 10 of the 13 brothers and sisters earned college degrees. Alton served in the U.S. Army during World War II, remaining stateside. Upon his discharge, he returned to central Texas where he married his beloved wife, Sarah Lou Evans in 1950. He went to work for Humble Pipeline Company (now Exxon) in Mexia and remained with the company until his retirement in 1976. During his career, he worked at Exxon facilities in Mexia, Longview and Houston. After his retirement, Alton and Sarah returned to Groesbeck. Until about a year ago, he spent nearly every day of his long retirement at his farm at Lost Prairie and at the Lost Prairie Cemetery. For many years the secretary/treasurer of the Lost Prairie Cemetery Association, he dedicated many hours to the preservation of the history of the cemetery and to its upkeep. He was particularly proud of his association with First National Bank in Groesbeck. He was a founder of the bank and served on its board of directors until his death. Alton and Sarah had three children. Their firstborn, a son named Jerry, died tragically as a toddler. He was preceded in death by his parents, his son Jerry and 10 of his brothers and sisters, J.B. (Bunk) Sims, Aulsie Sims, A.B. (Jep) Sims, Archie Sims, Alline Sims Maskew, Christine Sims, Anna Ruth Sims Reed, Warner Sims, Hazel Sims Fitzgerald and Junior Glynn Sims. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, his daughter Wanda Fewell and husband Brett of Groesbeck and his daughter Luann Dolan and husband Richard of The Woodlands. Also surviving are his four Aggie grandsons, Scott Byrd and wife Maranie (Maramee, according to Grandaddy) of Hurst, Wesley Byrd of Groesbeck, Benjamin Dolan of Santa Fe, New Mexico and Nick Dolan of College Station. The boys each inherited special traits from their grandfather - Scott, his financial acumen, Wesley, his dry wit, Ben, his unique sense of fashion, and Nick, his lovable stubbornness. Other survivors include his step-grandson, James Fewell, of Dallas, and step-granddaughter Jami Fewell Adams and her husband Chase and children Kaynce and Kaislyn of Great Falls, Montana; his brother, Dr. Eugene Sims of Waco and sister Wylene Sims Bryan of Lubbock. He also leaves behind a special caretaker and friend, Rose Pelton, and special Visiting Angels Nina White Perez and Janice McFarland.