Edith Esther Sims

Edith (Edie) Esther Hammond Sims, wife and matriarch to a large, loud, loving brood, passed to eternal life on June 3, 2025. Born on the eve of the Great Depression, Feb. 1, 1929, in Flint, Michigan, Edie was the fifth of eight children to Earl Warren Hammond and Gabriella Sidonie VanEeckhoutte Hammond. After high school graduation, she moved with her parents to Oxnard, California, where she worked for the U.S. Navy. She met the love of her life, Billy Gene Sims, at a USO dance in 1951. They were married just three months later, launching a life of adventures that spanned more than six decades. Together they raised six children, eventually extending the family tree to 13 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren and growing an ever-increasing circle of friends. In the mid-1950s, Edie and Bill became Alaska pioneers, homesteading on 160 acres of land in Kasilof on the Kenai Peninsula. While Bill worked in Anchorage, a pregnant Edie lived for six months on the homestead in an Army tent with two toddler boys. She walked a half mile to the hard road where the car was parked for trips to town for supplies. Later, Bill rejoined the U.S. Army, and the family moved around the U.S. and Germany for two decades that included two tours to Vietnam for Bill, while Edie reared their boisterous brood and served in officers’ wives’ functions. Following retirement Edie and Bill spent 40 years operating Antiques ‘n Ole Stuff in Washington, D.C., Chambersburg and Fayetteville, PA, and Brunswick, MD. Edie also owned and operated Sweet Dreams, a home decor shop in Brunswick. She was a founding member of Holy Family Catholic Community in Middletown, MD and served as a greeter and a lector. Following Billy’s death in March 2017, Edie stayed active. In her early 90s she traveled with her daughter, Vanessa, and fellow parishioners on a pilgrimage to Rome. She loved gardening, participating in the Saint Lucy Guild, thrift store treasure hunts, playing (winning) games with her children and friends, and caring for her beloved cat, Mitt. Survivors include her sister, Anna Allison; her children Billy M. (Gail) Sims, Hagerstown, MD; Marcus A. (Lourdes) Sims, Laurel, MD; Vanessa K. Armstrong, Staunton, VA; Monica Sims Crimmins (John) Hannon, Diana Sims (Keith) Snider and John D. (Theresa) Sims, all of Alexandria, VA; grandchildren Benjamin (Whitney) Narduzzi; Gabriel (Anna) Narduzzi; Emily (Nick) Macedonia; Bess (Chad) Sussman; Nathaniel (Katelyn) Snider; Alexander (Elizabeth) Snider; William Snider; Samuel (Meghan) Snider; Annalisa Sims, Marcella (Brian Rosado) Sims; Johnna Sims; Billy G. Sims II; and Nourah Barden; 20 great-grandchildren; many beloved nieces and nephews, a Belgian cousin, and lifelong and recent friends. Visitation is 1 p.m. Friday, June 13, 2025, with funeral Mass at 2 p.m. at Saint Louis Catholic Church, 2907 Popkins Lane, Alexandria VA 22306. Burial at Arlington National Cemetery to be announced. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions can be made to St. Louis Catholic Church or to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington.

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Edith Esther Sims

February 1, 1929 - June 3, 2025