Elizabeth Ida Sims

Elizabeth I. Sims passed away on September 10, 2018. Elizabeth was born July 7, 1923, to Benjamin and Nora Sims in Grant County, Oklahoma. Graveside services will be held on Friday, September 14, 2018 at 10:30am at Grace Hill Cemetery. Dighton-Marler Funeral Home of Perry is in charge of the arrangements.
Elizabeth graduated from Sumner Oklahoma H.S. at 16, immediately working as a bookkeeper at a Perry livestock auction. Within a few years Elizabeth found her calling as a “number please” operator for Bell Telephone, manually connecting calls from the office here in Perry and later in Stillwater. Helping the war effort and saving precious fuel, she rode a horse to work at the Perry telephone office each day in all kinds of weather.
After working a full shift at the telephone company, Elizabeth put in another shift as she managed a farm near Perry with her grandparents and mother; building fence, training horses, breeding cattle, and raising poultry, including turkeys and peacocks.
With true pioneer spirit, she also found time for many hobbies and avocations. She was a skilled silver smith, tailored her own clothing, quilted quilts by hand, and became quite an accomplished woodworker. She purchased her first computer for her 80th birthday, bought a computer for dummies book, and taught herself how to use a computer. That year she also wall papered her entire home. After all, age is only a number she would say.
From 1973 until 2003, Elizabeth began producing crafts for the War Eagle Craft Fair in Arkansas. She embroidered the garments she sewed, painted or quilted home decorator items, and repurposed antiques and collectables with beautiful or often whimsical paintings. Customers who treasured her creations came from New York to Florida as well as throughout the U.S., often calling to place specialized orders. She would start packing her camper in mid-September, filling every space with her creations, then drive to Fayetteville for almost a week of craft fair in mid-October.
Each year, Elizabeth enjoyed travelling throughout the U.S. with her mother as companion and later on solo adventures. Her powder blue pickup, decked out with her camper, could be found bouncing along from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Gulf up into Canada to enjoy the Calvary Rodeo.
Some of her more creative trips included following the fruit or fish harvests. She would pack canning jars and her pressure cooker into her camper. Then she and her mother would drive to Colorado for sweet cherry season, parking for a few days at an orchard where they would preserve the sweet fruit. Other years they canned salmon on the Pacific shore, or peaches in Oregon. She made many friends along the way who were always a little amazed at that 5 foot 2 inch bundle of energy picking fruit or haggling with fishermen in the early morning and preserving her purchases late into the day.
Elizabeth was preceded in death by her parents; her beloved and best friend Glen from Perry; and her brother Edward F. and sister-in-law Vera Sims, Sherrard, Illinois.
She is survived by niece Jennie Sims Lillpop (Tom) Grand Junction, Colorado and nephew Edward Sims, Jr (Pamela) Milan, Illinois. Also surviving are great nieces Corene Jack (Stan); Christine Houdek (Ryan); Amy Gustavson (Eric); Kendra Samart (Monthep); Heather Sims Jochum (Brian); and great nephew William Sims (Teresa). She is also survived by six great, great nieces and six great, great nephews.
We will all miss our wonderful auntie and adventurous friend, but will never forget the lessons she lived for 95 years; love God, work hard, never stop believing in yourself, and help those less fortunate. Oh, and take walk every day!
Condolences may be sent to the family via an online guestbook at www.dightonmarlerperry.com.