Emma Louise "Emma Z" Sims

Emma Louise Sims Emma Louise Sims was born on April 7, 1993, in Watson, Louisiana. After almost dying as a newborn, she lived a life that burned bright with creativity, courage, and color. She moved through the world like a rainbow flame, bedazzling and inspiring.

Emma was an artist in every sense of the word. She painted, wrote, collaged, performed stand-up comedy, and brought art into daily life through her vivid style, ever-changing hair colors, and the magic she created in the kitchen.

Emma lived by her own bright moral compass, and she had a gift for celebrating and uplifting those she loved. She was a steadfast advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and for anyone who faced judgment or injustice.

In recent years, Emma had done the hard and luminous work of healing. She chose sobriety and kept choosing it, day after day, turning pain into strength and compassion. Emma had a huge heart for animals, and when she recently adopted her rescue dog, Hazel, it was both an expression and fulfillment of the maturity and stability she'd reached.

In October 2025, Emma traveled from her home in Taos, NM, to Durango, Colorado, to help her best friend Shelby through a difficult separation. In an act of violence by Shelby's estranged husband that took both their lives, Emma's courage and love never faltered. She died on October 8 in Colorado Springs, surrounded in love by her mother, Susan Carpenter Sims; siblings, June Amber Carpenter, Graeme Sims, and Eliana Kaysing; family friends Jack Holland, Nicole Morning and her daughter, Marigold; and boyfriend, Ian Hubbard.

Emma's celebration of life will take place the day after Halloween-costume optional, just as she would have wanted. For her, Halloween wasn't just a holiday; it was a state of being. She would want those she loved to appreciate the poetry of her life ending amid the eerie mists and changing leaves.

Emma's flame continues in every person she touched. She taught that healing is possible, that authenticity is sacred, and that fierce, extravagant love is the truest form of magic. Her life was short, but her legacy is incandescent.

"Emma Z"