Sherry Granger Sims

Sherry Granger Sims, 66, a longtime Hubbard resident and 41-year employee of Baylor University, passed away peacefully at her home after a more than a yearlong battle with the rare Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.  Funeral services will be 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 21 at First Baptist Church of Hubbard with Rev. Ricky Woodall and Rev. Marcus Sheffield officiating.  Interment will follow in Fairview Cemetery in Hubbard.  The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Monday, December 20 at Wade Funeral Home in Hubbard.

Sherry was born February 28, 1955 in Waco to Kermit and Velma Ferrell Granger.

She was raised in Hubbard and was a 1973 graduate of Hubbard High School where she was very active in school activities including performing with the Lady Jaguarettes Drill Team for four years. During high school, Sherry worked part time for Keitt Drug Store and accountant H.M. Morris.   After high school, she attended Navarro Junior College in Corsicana before moving to Waco where she worked for Dealer Electric before beginning a long career working at Baylor University in 1979.  Sherry first worked several years in the Registrar’s Office before moving over the Graduate School Office where she eventually become Director of the Graduate School Office and a faculty member.   She absolutely loved Baylor University and was so proud and honored to be part of the Baylor Family.   Over the years, Sherry always had student workers in her office and adored them as they became family to her. Over the course of her long career at Baylor she was able to employ daughters of some of the students who had worked for her years earlier.

In 1973, Sherry met Don Sims from Mexia but they did not see each other again until Pam (Vaughn) and Mike Chaney from Mexia reintroduced them in 1980.  They were married on April 4, 1981 at First United Methodist Church of Hubbard and lived from several years in Mexia before moving to Hubbard in 1985.  While attending First Baptist Church of Mexia, Sherry was baptized and after moving back home, she became a devoted church member of First Baptist Church of Hubbard and sang in the choir for several years.  She also was an ardent supporter of her two children’s school activities, rarely if ever, missing a sporting event or school function that they participated in.

Having put her education on hold while working, Sherry obtained her BA degree at Baylor after her marriage and graduated in 1985.  She was so proud that both of her children, Taylor and Kelli, were both Baylor graduates.  When Taylor began his teaching and coaching career at Teague High School in 2005, Sherry attended virtually every football and basketball game he coached.  She became the unofficial team Mom for the Lady Lions basketball teams and later at Waco Connally for the Lady Cadets.  During Taylor’s coaching career at Connally, she never missed a game and was sometimes the only friendly face at away games but the girls always knew “Mama Sims” would be there for them for whatever they needed.   Likewise, when Kelli was coaching basketball, volleyball and softball at Connally, Sherry would be in the stands supporting the Lady Cadets as often as she could.

But Sherry’s second calling had to be working alongside Don at Wade Funeral Home when he began a career as a Funeral Director for Wade Funeral Home in 1994.   Over the years while continuing her full-time career as Director of the Graduate School Office at Baylor, she worked as a receptionist and greeter at the funeral home during visitations and funeral services. Without any formal training, Sherry became the cosmetics and hair stylist for the funeral home and served many families over the years and earned a respected reputation for making loved ones beautiful for their final services.  She also accompanied Don on many trips for the funeral home including out to West Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.  Even after retiring from Baylor last year due to her health, Sherry continued to work at the funeral home for several more months serving families with her kindness and compassion.

Sherry was preceded in death by her parents, Kermit and Velma Granger; father-in-law, R.Q. Sims and an infant grandson, Cameron Taylor Sims.

She is survived by her husband of 40 years, Don Alan Sims of Hubbard; children, Taylor Sims and wife, Cassandra of Waco and Kelli Sims of Hubbard; grandchildren, Kaelyn Sims, Ka’Mari Linville, Breydan Sims and Zayleigh Sims, all of Waco; sisters, Debra Hobbs of Georgetown and Patti Granger of Rosebud; mother-in-law, Sara Sims of Mexia; brother-in-law, Stephen Sims and wife, Diane of Dallas; sister-in-law, Gina Jarrell and husband, Donny of Eastland and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and other extended family members.

Pallbearers will Be Eric Raley, Judd Thrash, Josh Hill, Chris Sims, Clinton Little and Chris Howell.

Honorary pallbearers will be the current and former staff members of the Baylor University Graduate School Office and all of the athletes that Taylor coached at Waco Connally High School and Teague High School that loved Mama Sims so much.

Please sign the guestbook for Sherry at www.wadefuneralhome.net.