Newspaper Page Text
The Champion, Thursday, June 25 - July 1, 2015
LOCAL
Page 11A
Decatur resident reaches century mark
by Carla Parker
carla@dekalbchamp.com
While most families
gathered June 21 to celebrate
Fathers Day, Sadie Sims’
family gathered to celebrate
her 100th birthday
Sims, who lives in De
catur, was celebrated by her
seven remaining children,
23 grandchildren, 43 great
grandchildren, five great-
great grandchildren and
others whose lives she has
influenced throughout her
100 years.
“It feels good,” Sims said
of turning 100.
Sims and her family said
she is blessed to reach 100
after dealing with a couple of
health scares in her 80s and
90s. She has survived two
heart attacks and two strokes.
She had a pacemaker put in
when she was 94.
“After I got that pacemak
er I wasn’t sick anymore,” she
said. “Other people [have]
died and gone on, and I’m
still [taking care of] babies.”
“Everybody has gone on,
and she’s hanging on in here,”
Sims’ daughter Doris John
son said.
Sims was born June 21,
1915 in Walnut Grove, Ga.
Her mother died when she
was young, and she went to
live with her mother’s family.
Sims was an only child, but
her mother had 13 siblings.
When her grandparents took
her in, her aunts and uncles
became her siblings.
Sims said her aunts and
uncles loved her like a sister
because of her grandparents’
love for her.
“They loved me because
my granddaddy was crazy
about me. I was his favorite,”
Sims said. “Anything he was
doing, and my grandmother
too, I was right there helping
them. The rest of the children
wanted to play or go some
where.”
Sims’ family lived on a
100-plus-acre farm. She loved
to cook alongside her grand
mother and milk cows with
her grandfather.
“I was the tomboy,” she
added. “I was always on the
farm.”
Sims has fond memories
of spending time with her
grandfather on the farm.
“He was a good farmer,”
she said. “We didn’t want for
nothing.”
“Everything her grand
father taught her she did the
same,” Johnson said. “Her
grandfather would give you
anything and feed everybody,
and that’s exactly what she
did. That’s why so many peo
ple know her and love her.”
Sims went to school up
until the eighth grade. One
celebrated the century mark at
could say she was home
schooled after the eighth be
cause one of her aunts would
bring home her schoolbooks
and teach Sims what they
learned that day.
“My grandmother had an
education too,” she said. “She
worked for a senator, and
she got to go to school. My
J
grandmother would teach
us too. She taught us how to
read all the big words.”
Although Sims does not
have a high school diploma,
Johnson said her mother is
just as smart as anyone is.
“She and my daddy
stressed [that] we had to get
an education; they knew the
value of an education,” John
son said. “But, she read all
of our school books. She’s a
smart cookie.”
Sims lived on her family’s
farm until she married her
first husband, Robert Lowe,
in her late teens.
They moved to Decatur
and she had one son with
Lowe. They were married for
two years before Lowe died.
She later married Jessie Sims
and had seven children with
him, including Johnson. She
also raised a nephew, who
she considered a son.
One of her sons passed
away nearly 15 years ago and
she has lost a grandson.
Sims was a stay at-home
mom, but when her chil
dren got older, she worked
for City Schools of Decatur
as a cafeteria worker. She
See Birthday on page 18A
V
\W©//fefi)©|°) Ql ©\W@90©
Discover DeKalb's Reunion Specialist
will teach you everything you need to
know to plan the perfect
Family Reunion in DeKalb County!
Workshop - 10 a.m. to Noon
Showcase - Noon to 2 p.m.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Atlanta Marriott Century Center
2000 Century Boulevard NE
Atlanta, GA 30345
discover
II
Family Reunion Capital of the South
Pre-registration is required
Call 770-492-5018
Register online at AtlantasDeKalb.com
WsiBmBaigj (§Bms
Professional trainer, Donna Satchell
of STARR Consulting & Training,
will teach you the importance of providing
outstanding service and help you enhance
your service skills in this motivating and
invigorating free class.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Discover DeKalb Conference Room
1957 Lakeside Parkway, Suite 510
Tucker, GA 30084
©
servrce
centric
ACADEMY
Pre-registration is required
Call 770-492-5014
Register online at AtlantasDeKalb.com
Pueblo - ID#
27691708 (right) is a
very sweet boy! This
2 year old cutie is a
happy boy that would
really flourish in a
home. He is a little
bashful here at the
shelter, but that doesn’t
stop him from curiously
approaching you and
wagging his tail. He just
needs a little time to
feel comfortable before
his sweetness and
wiggles come out. Pueblo gets along great with
other dogs and probably wouldn’t mind having
a canine companion in his new home. Come
meet sweet Pueblo at the DeKalb shelter today!
Throughout June all pets over six months and
dogs weighing at least 25 lbs. may be adopted for
FREE! They will be spayed/neutered, vaccinated
and microchipped at no additional charge. If you
would like more information about Pueblo please
email adoption@dekalbanimalservices.com or
call (404) 294-2165. All potential adopters will be
screened to ensure Pueblo goes to a good home.
r