Sarah Ruth Sims

Sarah Ruth Epley Sims was born November 26, 1931 in Glencoe, Alabama, the oldest child and only daughter of Ernest Lee and Ruth Singer Epley. She departed this life ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­May 14, 2025.

Sarah’s formal education was in the public schools of Gadsden, Alabama and at Alabama College for Women (now the University of Montevallo). She was a lifelong reader, but probably her most successful teachers were her children, whose lessons about friendship and the challenges of modern life helped shape her response to the world in which she lived.

Sarah worked as a bookkeeper with Dallas County Schools and as an editor of state history textbooks, but from childhood her primary ambition and calling was to be a wife and mother. She made home for her family in various locations as her husband’s seventy-year career as a Baptist minister necessitated. From youth, the guiding influence in Sarah’s life was her relationship with God. At the time of her death, she was a member of Benton Baptist Church.

Sarah was married to Robert Elwood Sims in 1951 at her home church, Forrest Avenue Baptist of Gadsden. From their union came a large, productive family. She was predeceased by her husband in 2024. She is survived by her children: Elizabeth and David Moore of Tupelo, Mississippi; George and Ellen Guice Sims of Nashville, Tennessee; Lee and Martha Lee Miller Sims of Huntsville, Alabama; Lamar Sims of Kansas City, Missouri; and Vaughn Sims of Tyler, Alabama. Her grandchildren are: Cliff and Ashley Neal Moore and their daughter Sophie Moore; Jason Moore; Laura Moore and Ben Bullock and their children Liza and Thomas Bullock; Georgia Sims and her daughter Molly Sims-Daugherty; Christopher and Amy Hatchett Sims and their daughters Lilly and Sarah Sims; and Andrew Sims and Stephanie Balunda and their children Alex and Charlotte Sims.

In addition to her husband and parents, Sarah was predeceased by her brother Ernest Hugh Epley of Chesapeake, Virginia. She is survived by her brother William Arnold Epley of Liberty, Missouri.

Funeral services and interment will be at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, May 17, 2025 in the outdoor chapel at Saint Peter’s, Sarah and Elwood’s home in Lowndes County near Benton, Alabama. Friends are invited to speak to family members at Benton Baptist Church following the funeral.

The family would prefer that, instead of sending flowers, contributions be made in Sarah’s memory to the Scholarship Fund at New Bethel Baptist Church, c/o John Strickland, Jr., 1032 County Road 7, Minter, AL 36761. This fund has assisted students in the Braggs community for over twenty years and, with your help, can continue to do so for many additional years.