Gloria Mae (Sims) Oswalt

Gloria Mae (Sims) Oswalt, of Groesbeck, passed away in League City on Monday, March 25, 2024, at age 88.

Visitation will be in the Groesbeck Funeral Home Chapel on Saturday, April 6, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. through 12:00 noon.   

Graveside services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday at Lost Prairie Cemetery, with her nephew, Dennis Sims officiating. 

Pallbearers will be Jeffrey Sims of Cypress, Blaine Douglas of Houston, Greg Scherbenske of Cypress, Luke Ramsey of Friendswood, Jerry Germany (neighbor on Lake Limestone) Groesbeck, Michael Stewart (neighbor on Lake Limestone), Groesbeck, Jaryn Sims of Fayetteville, Arkansas and Ryan Anderson of Cypress. 

Gloria was born on February 21, 1936, in Mexia to John Barnett Sims and Addie Bea (Ward) Sims.   She was united in marriage to James Edwin Oswalt on November 19, 1954, in Old Ocean, TX.

Gloria worked as the office manager for Texas Employer’s Insurance.  Gloria was a very loving and caring person.  After they retired, Gloria and James moved to Lake Limestone and lived next to her sister-in-law, Welda Sims Thurman.  

After her husband, James passed away in 2009 and Welda's husband, Robert Thurman passed away in 2016, it was especially grand that they were close to help each other as loving and dedicated sisters-in-law.   They prided themselves in their travels as the “Two Traveling Old Ladies from Lake Limestone.”  They traveled to many places in Texas, including holidays to visit Welda’s sons and their families, which she considered as her family also. 

Gloria was the Chef in the two families who loved trying new recipes.  Two dishes she prepared that the family enjoyed at special holiday meals were stuffed jalapenos and a special spicy macaroni salad. 

Gloria was the Sims and Oswalt Family historian.  She had an amazing memory recalling all of Granddaddy Sims’ eleven brothers and sisters’ names, where they lived, what they did, and their kids’ names.   The most FUN shown by the smiles on her face was watching the grandnieces and nephews having fun water sporting on the lake off her pier and using her boat that she purchased for them to enjoy.

Also not to be forgotten was her love for her favorite “PawBearers”:  Sugar, Lizzy Lou, Baby Girl, Wiley, Annie Mae, Pyper, which were the pets of family and neighbors at the lake.  They would line up at her garage door when they saw her driving in from shopping, knowing she would have a treat for them. 

Gloria is preceded in death by her parents; her son James Wayne Oswalt in 1987; her husband James Edwin Oswalt in 2009; brothers, J.W. Sims in 1990 and Ladell (Dale) Sims in 2016, and sisters-in-law, Sue Yvonne Sims in 2021 and Welda Innette Sims in 2022.

 She is survived by nephews and nieces and their spouses:  Dennis and Jan Sims of Friendswood, James and Sherry Sims of Houston, Vicki and Ronnie Sasson of West Columbia, Tammy and John Murray of Horse-Shoe Bay, and Gary and Dianne Sims of Victoria.  Her grandnephew and grandnieces and their families are: Jeffrey and Ginger Sims and their children of Cypress, Jennifer and Greg Scherbenske and their children of Cypress, Heather and Luke Ramsey and their children of Friendswood, and Trisha and Blaine Douglas and their children of Houston. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in the name of Gloria Mae (Sims) Oswalt could be made to:  Columbia Christian Senior Citizens Center,  629 East Bernard, West Columbia, TX  77486 (phone: 979-345-5955)