Odis V Sims, Jr. and Edith R Sims

Odis V Sims, Jr., a retired Air Force officer who made a second career in Plainview, and Edith R. Sims, who grew up in Hale County and returned here with her husband, were well known supporters of community and religious causes.

Odis V Sims, Jr. was born in Crosbyton in 1920, grew up in Slaton, and graduated from high school there. He enlisted as a cadet in the Army Air Corps in 1943, attended Buffalo (New York) University as a cadet, and served as a pilot in locations from Hawaii to England and French Morocco during World War II. After the war he continued in the Air Force until 1965, when he retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Edith Rieff was born in 1927 in Olustee, Oklahoma. Ten years later, the family moved to Cotton Center, and she graduated from high school there. She was working in Lubbock when she met Odis Sims. They married there in 1946.

After Odis’s Air Force career, the couple moved to Plainview. Beginning in 1965, Odis worked for the City National Bank, First National Bank, and Norwest Bank, from which he retired as vice-president and cashier in 1992. Edith was a librarian in the public school system for eight years.

Both Odis and Edith served the community in many ways. He was president of the local Red Cross chapter, supported Community Concerts, and belonged to the Knife and Fork Club. He was a longtime member of Kiwanis International and received the club’s Hixson Fellow award in 2002. Edith was involved in the local United Way from its inception in 1968 and was the volunteer activities director of the Heritage Home nursing facility.

Both Simses were active supporters of the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Plainview Christian Academy, and the display honoring to Plainview veterans at the Llano Estacado Museum. For his role in founding and running the Road to Recovery volunteer transportation service for cancer patients, Odis received the Cotton Barons Award from the American Cancer Society in 2003. Edith was also recognized by the society for her work in this program.

Odis was a member of the American Legion, the Air Force Association, and the Retired Officers Association. The Plainview Daily Herald recognized him as the town’s most patriotic citizen and inducted him into its Citizenship Hall of Fame. He received the Chamber of Commerce’s Citizens Service Award in 2002.

Odis and Edith were active in the First Baptist Church, where Odis was a deacon, Edith taught Sunday School, and both served on many committees. Odis was also treasurer of the Caprock Plains Baptist Association for more than 20 years. He died in 2006.