A celebration of life for Mrs. Martha Shaddix Sims, age 98, of Bynum, will be held Sunday, October 31, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. in the sanctuary at New Haven Baptist Church with Pastors Roy Cordle and Larry Riddle officiating. The family will receive friends on the same day in the church’s Christian Life Center from 1:00 p.m. until time of the service.
Mrs. Sims passed away peacefully on October 15, 2021, in Cullman, Alabama.
She is survived by her sister: Erma Joye Adams; her children: Martha (JD) Ham, Larry (Camellia) Sims and Cathy (Donnie) Kimbro; grandchildren: Robbie (Cindy) Harris, Lynne (Woody) Woodson, Nona (Mike) Morris, Nicky Lamoire, Sonya (Tony) Bedford, Tina (Todd) Waldrop and Sandi (Aaron) Gorman; 15 great-grandchildren and 10 great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband: Ocie Buren “Bud” Sims and brothers: RJ Shaddix, Hugo Shaddix and Billie Shaddix.
Many knew her as “Ms. Martha,” but to her family, she was our “Da,” affectionately given this grandmother name by her oldest grandson, Robbie, when he was a young boy. The uniqueness of her name would prove to be very fitting for this special woman.
Martha grew up in Clay County where she met and married her sweetheart, Bud Sims. In spite of her beauty, this blue-eyed red head would proudly tell you it was the Highland JHS basketball uniform she wore that first grabbed his attention. With their three beautiful children, they later moved to Bynum, Alabama, where she lived out the remainder of her more than 98 years.
Throughout their marriage, she and Bud spent much of their time together attending games and cheering on the Alabama Crimson Tide along with their longtime friends Mac and Ruth Sprayberry. Even after the passing of both Bud and Mac, Martha and Ruth continued this tradition well into their 70s. When she was no longer able to attend games, she was still doing plenty of armchair coaching.
After Bud’s passing in 1983, when asked if she would ever marry again, she was quick to say, “One man was enough for me!” She stayed single and true to her word, spending her time caring for her children, grandchildren and their little families in the sweetest of ways.
She retired after many years working at the Palm Beach Pants Factory in Talladega, Alabama, where her love for sewing grew. Sitting in front of her Pfaff sewing machine was her happy place. Among the many things she created, she once made her granddaughters a prom dress and a wedding dress, each one featuring intricate beading detail that took countless hours to complete. Even in her later years, when her hands could no longer operate her machine, she continued to groom her garments, snipping strings with her little brown scissors.
After retiring, she didn’t stay home long before being appointed to the Calhoun County Board of Registrars and even went back to college in her 70s to improve her computer skills. These skills came in handy while keeping up with her family and friends on Facebook.
Caring for her family knew no bounds. She loved celebrating their birthdays with a homemade cake, delivering a card with a little something inside and often with a sweet “Happy Birthday” serenading on a phone call. Even as our family continued to expand, she always seemed to have plenty of love to go around. She continued to try and keep up with every birthday, graduation, wedding, anniversary, ball game, choir concert, pageant and even fund raisers, all the while making each one of us feel special and loved. Even up to her final days, she continued to give heartfelt, thoughtful advice to anyone who would listen, and we are all better for it.
She was a long-time member of New Haven Baptist Church and loved the Lord. She lived her life trying to show that love not only to family, but to her many, many friends, neighbors, and all of those around her. She never met a stranger and if she did, rest assured, she knew one of their kin.
Her love for others is her legacy and was a shining light in this world. She will be greatly missed by her family and all those who knew and loved her.
