CLAIR SIMS

SIMS, Clair H., departed from this world into the arms of Christ on Good Friday, April 6, 2012. Clair was born on December 22, 1937 in Norfolk, Va., to Vernon Carlton Hamilton and Edith Clair Arnold Hamilton; has a brother, Herbert Warren Hankins. Clair was a 1955 graduate of Norview High School in Norfolk and married Donnie "Rocky" Edgar Sims in January 1956. They have two children, Dalelynn and her family, Lynn, their daughter, Kristy and Thomas Howells and their children, Clair's great-grandchildren, Andrew and Veronica; Lonnie and his family, Brenda and their children, Shawn Michael and Joseph, and Logan, Clair's great-grandson.

Clair and Rocky, former motel managers, settled in the Freeman, Va. area, where together they had an impact on a community who embraced them years before. Together they donated time and energies into the community, creating a rehabilitation facility for injured wildlife on their little part of God's country, on the county pond. They celebrated 38 years together before Rocky was called home with Christ in June of 1994.

Clair continued to assist others in ways that could fill a book, always having time and a kind word for everyone she met. She worked for many years for Lake Country Area Agency on Aging as a home care CNA. There she assisted others to achieve a better quality of life by helping maintain independence and dignity in their home environment. When the time came that she could no longer provide for others as a CNA, Clair continued to be a focal point in the family and community. Author of the 'The Waifarer,' a column in the Brunswick Times Gazette 2009 - 2010, Clair provided words of inspiration and encouragement to her readers on a variety of topics. When illness struck Clair the first time, it was not long before she was once again living independently in Emporia, Va., where she could often be found riding her big three-wheeled bicycle to the store or walking with her cart. Asked if she needed a ride, almost always the answer was she wanted to enjoy the day and needed the exercise.

We celebrate the fact that Clair believed in the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus the Messiah and that in death there is life everlasting for her and all who believe. The family of Clair H. Sims invites you to attend the memorial service celebrating her life. If you knew her, please come celebrate her life, past and present, with us 2 p.m. April 22, at the Edgerton United Methodist Church, 92 County Pond Road. Please consider memorial donations to the American Cancer Society.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.