Louie Mimms Obituary

MIMMS, LOUIE, MAJOR, USAF
Ocala - Louie Mimms, 89, passed away peacefully at home in Ocala on Wednesday, January 5, 2011. He was born on June 12, 1921, in Guthrie, Kentucky. After graduating from high school, he joined the armed forces just before WW II. He proudly served as a P-38 fighter pilot and later as a communications officer. After 23 years in the Air Force, he retired and became a high school English teacher for the next 20 years. He is survived by Harriet, his loving wife of 67 years, two sons and a daughter, plus grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was interred at the Florida National Cemetery, in Bushnell, with his immediate family in attendance, as he wished.

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Published by Ocala Star-Banner from Jan. 20 to Jan. 21, 2011.

Memories and Condolences
for Louie Mimms

8 Entries

Clarence Cresong

July 19, 2020

I realize that I am nearly a decade late in offering my sincerest condolences to the family of Mr. Mimms. Ive read the obviously heartfelt comments from family and other previous students of Mr. Mimms, so I know that he meant so much to more than just me.

I graduated from Lake Placid (FL) High School in 1980, and Mr. Mimms was my English teacher...the most memorable English teacher I ever had (maybe the most memorable of ANY teacher I ever had). Though he was my teacher for only one school year, his impact on my life has been profoundly permanent. I truly dont believe I realized how much I love language and the art of communication until Mr. Mimms showed me just the kind of power language has. He helped me understand, like no other teacher Ive ever known, that the words I use and how I use them represent ME: the person I am and the person I hope to be. He helped me see that language can cut and divide and hurt, but they can also bring out the best in each of us, and they can help bring healing and a sense of unity and oneness. I could say so very much more about Louie Mimms, but if I had to boil it all down to one main idea, it would be that Mr. Mimms showed me that words matter, and ideas matter, and how you communicate those words and ideas is up to each of us. Itll soon be 4 decades since I graduated high school, but Louie Mimms remains as fresh in my memory as the day I first walked into his classroom. He was a unique man with an undying desire to educate children to do his part to help raise those children into good, decent humans who have the ability and the desire to not just say what you mean but to mean what you say. I cant imagine a more honorable endeavor for a teacher than that.

I have one very clear memory of Mr. Mimms. Soon as I walked into his classroom, he had the abbreviation M.O.M.M. written on the upper right corner of his blackboard. I remember him telling us to just call him MOMM just so we didnt have to keep calling him mean old Mr. Mimms, and I must admit that I was prepared for the worst after hearing that, but the truth is that, strict as he could be, I never once, for an instant, felt anything from Mr. Mimms but caring and dedication and a sense of his wanting the very best from all of us.

In my life, Ive encountered so many different kinds of people with so many different kinds of motives and most of the time most of them seem like a momentary blur in my life, but until my last day, Louie Mimms will remain in my mind where he was when it had been my honor to see him every day: a guiding light to show me the way to who I truly am and to be the very best I can.

How could you every properly thank anyone for such a gift? As many words as Mr. Mimms taught me, and as colorfully as he taught me to use them, there could never be any intense or heartfelt enough to convey my appreciation for the meanest man who ever cared enough about me to share his time & his knowledge with me.

As always, M.O.M.M. remains my hero.

To his family who endures the loss of such a great man to an extent I will probably never know, I send my deepest, sincerest condolences and my eternal gratitude for sharing such a great man with all of us who needed him on our lives too!

Donna Chaudhry

January 20, 2012

Louie Mimms was a Great man and my Granddad. I miss him putting his arms around me and asking "How's my girl?" when we would come to visit.
When we were little girls(Diane and I)would spend most of the summer with my Grandparents. Granddad would take us fishing on the lake.Since we fished with worms he had a heck of a time trying to keep bait on our hooks,finally he told us if we wanted to fish we would have to bait our own hooks.He showed us how and we did learn to do it ourselves. He taught us how to swim,and to tell time. He always used words we did not know and had us look them up. The dictionary was under the table in the living room.I have that table now and a dictionary is in the same spot.
Sometimes he would tease us and say he was gonna give it to us right between the horns. Diane and I would always put two fingers up on our head,one on each side of our head,to indicate where our horns would be,and he would just laugh and hug us.
Granddad was also an excellent marksman.When we were down on the beach and would see a Water Moccasin we would holler up to him,he was always where he could hear us, and he would come down and shoot the snake and haul it away to the garden to become fertilizer.
One summer he asked my sister and I to pick up the ears under the ear tree so that he could mow. We declined because we wanted to watch TV. He said OK poor ole Granddad would do it himself. We felt so guilty we went out and picked them up. He never had to ask us again,if he was mowing we went out and picked up ears.
We learned "yes sir" and "no sir" very quickly. If we nodded instead of answering him he would ask us if we were trying to hear the marbles rattleing in our head.
Granddad was a Great cook. I can remember having salad nightly and always a yummy main course. He even had one dish he called Granddad a la King. Waffles,coffee cake,grits,and the best Cheese omelet ever made. Any time we were staying our favorite ice cream was there,sometimes new clothes and beach toys too. Though I'm pretty sure Grandmom had a hand in all that.
Yes,Granddad taught us many things. Grammar,spelling,new words,swimming,fishing,telling time. But the one thing he taught us,that wasn't taught, was unconditional love. We loved him more than words can say and we KNEW he loved us the same way.
A couple of years ago I told him there was a picture of him on my fridge and every night before I went to bed I kissed him goodnight.He just looked at me and said I know. I looked at him puzzled by his response and he just smiled with that glimmer in his eyes.
I miss his hugs and him telling me I made him whistle and the twinkle in his eyes when he smiled. He stayed with us as long as he could,and I believe that he did that more for us then for himself. He was Unselfish,Respected, and LOVED. Granddad,I love you and miss you very much.I still kiss that picture on my fridge every night but somehow I think you know that already.

Rhonda Rhodes-Sleister

May 28, 2011

Excellent and memorable teachers are few and far between, and Mr. Mimms was one of them. I consider it a privilege to have been one of his students in the early 70's. I just learned of his passing, and wanted to pay my respects.

Howell Scott

February 11, 2011

My sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Mimms. I had the wonderful blessing of having him as my English teacher at Lake Placid (FL) High School my junior and senior years (1983 and 1984). He was truly one of a kind and only wanted the best for his students. Mr. Mimms held all of us to the highest standards and expected the best from us. If we were willing to work hard, he would do all he could to help us succeed.
Having graduated from college, law school and seminary, I have had many teachers who followed Mr. Mimms, but none could compare to him. Though I had not seen Mr. Mimms since he moved from Lake Placid, I will remember my visits with him in his front yard and his generous spirit. And regardless (irregardless is not a word -- he drilled that into us) of how many teachers I encounter in my life,I'm not sure that any will have the lasting impact that Mr. Mimms had on me and on so many of his students.

Grandad and Grandmom celebrating their birthdays which were one day apart.

Jessica Hunt

February 9, 2011

Louie Mimms was my Great-Grandfather. He loved his family and enjoyed telling us stories from when he was a P-38 Lightning pilot and when he was an english teacher. He never stopped being an english teacher. His children and grandchildren had to "Look it up" and he was always so quick to correct our grammar. He made the best waffles ever and had a wonderful sense of humor which I like to think I got from him. I love him so much. There will never be another man like my Grandad.

Gayle McGhee (nee Canter)

February 9, 2011

My deepest condolences to your family for your loss. Mr. Mimms was my English teacher at Lake Placid High School. I graduated in 1984 and had him as a senior.
I was always a good student in school and never had to apply myself to get good grades. I remember Mr. Mimms as my favorite teacher because he recognized I was not meeting my full potential and pushed me harder. He was my only teacher to do so at LPHS. I went on to college and then on to the professional workplace and now work as a scientist at Michigan State University where I am a researcher and write scientific papers. The lessons Mr. Mimms taught me have stayed with me through my life. And I will be forever grateful for his faith in my potential and motivating me to work beyond what just came easy to me.

Mr. Mimms 1984 yearbook picture

Corinna (Pill) Smith

February 9, 2011

My sister and I both had Mr. Mimms for our high school English teacher. He was a great teacher and will never be forgotten! My prayers go out to the Mimms family.

George Hale

February 9, 2011

My condolences to Mr. Mimms' family. Mr. Mimms was my English teacher at Lake Placid High School from 1983 to 1985. His dedication to educating his students and preparing them for life after high school has had a lasting impression on me. Looking back, it was an honor to have learned from him.

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