Thomas Sims

Thomas Andrew Sims Jr. TUSCALOOSA Thomas Andrew Sims Jr., age 86, of Tuscaloosa, died Oct. 4, 2012, at home. Services will be 4 p.m. today at Forest Lake United Methodist Church with Rev. Hal Noble officiating. Graveside services will be 12 noon Monday at Pine Hill Cemetery in Auburn with Magnolia Chapel Funeral Home North directing. Visitation will be today from 3 to 4 p.m. at Forest Lake United Methodist Church. He was preceded in death by his parents, Inez and Thomas Andrew Sims, and his son-in-law, Joe T. McCrary. Survivors include his wife, Jean Phillips Sims of Tuscaloosa; his daughters, Debra Sims McCrary of Tuscaloosa and Marcia Sims Pegues (John) of Hoover; his sons, Thomas Andrew Sims III (Karan) of Henderson, Nev. and Stephen Briggs Sims of San Marcos, Calif.; his sister, Louise Sims Behrman (Jack) of Chapel Hill, N.C.; and his grandchildren, Joanne McCrary Brasseal of Hoover, Margaret McCrary Whitehurst of Mobile, Thomas Andrew Sims IV of Henderson, Nev., Anna Grace Sims of Henderson, Nev., Rachel Sims Pegues of Atlanta, Ga., and John Thomas Pegues of Birmingham. Tom Sims was born in Auburn, Alabama on Dec. 23, 1925. Growing up in Auburn, he graduated from Auburn High School and Auburn University, where he was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity. He was a U.S. Air Force cadet during World War II. As a 38-year employee of Alabama Power Company, he worked in offices in Mobile, Montgomery, Eufaula, and Birmingham before retiring in Tuscaloosa in 1988 as western division accounting manager. He was a member of Forest Lake United Methodist Church of Tuscaloosa, where he was active on the budget committee, Happy Seekers, and a charter member of the Koinonia Sunday School class. He served as chapter chairman of the American Red Cross, was metro division chairman of United Way of Tuscaloosa County, and a member of the Tuscaloosa Exchange Club. Tom was a devoted husband and father, enjoyed traveling extensively with his family and friends, and was an enthusiastic fan of the Auburn Tigers. Pallbearers will be his grandsons, John Thomas Pegues and Drew Sims; and John Pegues, Brian Brasseal, Jonathan Whitehurst, and Doug Behrman. Donations may be made to the Forest Lake United Methodist Church Building Fund.