Arlis Lynel Sims, 78, of Kingsland died April 11, 2018
Arlis Lynel Sims, 78, graduated to her heavenly home from the family home in Kingsland, Texas, on April 11, 2018, following a short illness. A native Texan, Arlis was born Sept. 16, 1939, in the Panhandle county of Hale in the Ellen community to Alice (Gresham) and Cecil Culp.
The only daughter in her family, God blessed Arlis with the same kind of determination her grandfather and grandmother Culp must have had when the emigrated to America from Norway not many decades prior. That determination, coupled with her with her strong faith in God, enabled Arlis to face challenges that were a part of her life’s journey.
She was raised by loving parents, along with an older brother, Kerby Koen Culp, in the happy farm home where she learned to appreciate the earth and all of God’s provisions along with the nurture of loving Christian family members.
Arlis attended school in Plainview, Texas, graduating from Tulia High School after her parents moved to Tulia just before her final year of high school.
At 16, Arlis was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and spent the rest of her life carefully living with the disciplines the disease placed upon her. When she married, her beloved husband, Leon, faithfully took up the fight alongside her, enabling her to successfully live a full and active life without many of the difficulties often experienced by Type 1 patients.
The family wishes to recognize her physician, Dr. Robert Graves of Burnet, for the above and beyond medical care he provided Arlis for nearly two decades.
Arlis married Leon Harrision Sims following his military tour of duty in Plainview on July 9, 1962, and the couple enjoyed more than 55 years of married life. Their union was blessed by two children. Their daughter, Rhonda Kay, was the joy of her parents’ life when she was
born in 1966. A cerebral palsy child, Rhonda Kay passed when she was only 4 years old from complications of her CP. Imagine Arlis’s and Leon’s joy when their son, Jeremy Odel Sims, joined the family in 1972, a special blessing from Heaven. They treasured raising Jeremy and pouring themselves into his life through childhood, high school, and the University at Wayland Baptist in Plainview and Texas Tech.
Jeremy married Natalie Loflin in 1998, and the couple added three grandchildren to the Sims family: Ashley, Mitchell, and McKenzie.
Arlis’s joy in life was maintaining an immaculate home for her beloved husband and children. She took pride in being a wife and mother,
fulfilling her God-given calling to that role. In addition to performing her role as a homemaker and mother, Arlis reflected the glory of God in her very person. She was an active member of each church the couple attended throughout their marriage.
She had a special love for fishing and often caught more fish than her husband. She considered her champion catch to have been made at Amistad Reservoir in 2005, and she made sure photos were taken to prove her success. Arlis and Leon loved providing fish for an annual fish fry at their church.
She is survived by her husband of the home, Leon Sims, their son and daughter-in-law, Jeremy and Natalie Sims, and the three grandchildren of Plainview, as well as a special nephew, Ron (Yvonne) Clark of Headrick, Oklahoma.
She was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents, brother Kerbey, and beloved daughter Rhonda Kay.
Also Arlis is survived by nieces and nephews and many friends locally and across the state.
A service was held Saturday, April 14, at Buchanan West Baptist Church with Pastor Tom McCollister officiating.
Arrangements by Jenkins Funeral Home, 109 N. Main St. in Burnet, (512) 756-4444. Go to jenkinsserves.com to offer condolences. Interment was in the family plot in Plainview.