Donald A. Sims

Donald Arthur Sims, 76, of Huntersville returned to his heavenly home on June 28, 2015. After a heroic fight with cancer, he died peacefully in his home surrounded by his loving family. He was an amazing man who lived and loved well and continued this example up until his death. Don was born in Mooresville on April 28, 1939 to the late Samuel and Martha Sims. He was a graduate of Mooresville High School where he excelled in basketball and attended Pfeiffer College on a basketball scholarship. He was an exceptional athlete and continued his love of sports throughout his life, playing softball, basketball, and tennis in his younger years and later developing a passion for golf. He shared his talents as a youth basketball and football coach for the Derita Athletic Association for many years, and countless young people were blessed by his leadership. After college, he entered the Navy where he spent four years on a flight crew. He then went to work for Southern Bell and had a wonderful career there until his retirement in 1994. Over the years, he worked in several different areas of the company and spent the last decade of his career as a Manager in the Investigations Division. Don loved every phase of his life and maintained strong friendships with many people from his high school, college, Navy, and work years. Don's main passion in life was his family. He was married to Kay Cashion Sims for 56 years, and his love for her was a rare and beautiful thing. He is also survived by two daughters: Cheryl Sims Nabell and her husband, Mark, of Wilmington, and Kristel Sims White and her husband, Jeff, of Charlotte. He had six wonderful grandchildren: Grant, Rett, and Claire Nabell, Savannah Dean, and Owen and Emma Kay White. Other survivors include his brother and best friend, Bobby Sims and his wife, Sylvia, of Huntersville, and his sister-in-law, Faye Shuler and her husband, Johnny, of Mooresville. The family would like to extend their deep gratitude to the many people who have come around them to offer prayers and support during this time, specifically their friends and extended family, their church families at Mt. Zion and Cole Memorial, their doctors, and their caregivers from Hospice and Assurance Home Care. You are all special angels to us. Funeral services will be at 2:00 pm on Wednesday July 1, 2015 at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Cornelius, followed by interment in the church cemetery. A reception will then be held in the Family Life Center. Memorials can be made to the Mt. Zion UMC Memorial Fund c/o Mt. Zion United Methodist Church 19600 Zion St., Cornelius, NC 28031. Raymer-Kepner Funeral Home and Cremation Services is assisting the family. Friends may offer condolences to the family at www.raymerfh.com.