CAROLINE "Carol" SIMS

CAROLINE SIMS "Carol" (Age 93)  
Formerly of Burke, Virginia, went Home to Divine Love on August 14, 2017 at home with family. She was beloved wife to James Sims Sr., deceased; mother to Margaret Sims, deceased (Dug Greevy, deceased); John Sims; James Sims Jr.; and Josephine (Joie) Hill (Edward Dea); and grandmother to four. She was born full-term at only 3 1/2 lbs. on November 15, 1923. The doctor handed her to her mother and quickly left the room, for there was no expectation she would live. She did.  Carol grew up a spunky tomboy and borrowed and safety pinned her older brother's pants so she could play baseball with the boys. She earned a chemistry degree from Wellesley College in 1946, after which she went to work as a medical technician, social worker, full-time mom, and kindergarten teacher. She was an active volunteer across decades of her life, offering her compassion and good humor at Messiah United Methodist Church, where she was an energetic member; the Lamb Center; Martha's Table; and Inova Fairfax Hospital, where she volunteered for two decades and routinely transported by wheelchair patients up to three times her size. After moving to Cleveland in 2010, Carol tutored young readers into her late 80s. A two-time cancer survivor and caregiver extraordinaire, she raised four children and cared for her husband, who lived with brittle Diabetes; for a family friend who lived with HIV/AIDS; for her daughter, who passed in 2008; and for her grandson Jay, who, together with his parents, she helped raise from infancy. In what free time she had, she enjoyed crossword puzzles, reading, watching and playing tennis, and communing with her menagerie of cats and dogs, to which she attributed her longevity.  She possessed a fresh view on life and inspiring wit to the end. Walking between her family's lilac bushes this year, she proclaimed with her warm smile and eyes sparkling, "It's like living in a bouquet!" Her last day out in the world she walked her dog twice as she did daily and as usual announced, "Ally and I are going to put the sun to bed," before she sat on the back steps to watch the sunset with her dog. She cared deeply about racial and social justice and for living by the Golden Rule. She was a fierce champion for good in a small package. Celebration of her life will be held at Forest Hills Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, on Saturday, September 9 at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, family requests that donations be made to the Natural Resources Defense Council or Greater Cleveland Congregations.