Memorials › James Rae “Jim” Sims Sr.

James Rae “Jim” Sims Sr.

8 Aug 1933 – 10 Dec 2016

Birth8 Aug 1933
Death10 Dec 2016
CemeteryPhilipsburg Cemetery
Philipsburg , Granite County , Montana , USA
Added byAnnie Duckett Hundley on 16 Jul 2024
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/272511841

Bio

James Rae "Jim" Sims Sr. 1933 - 2016 James Rae "Jim" Sims took his last ride on December 10, 2016, due to myelodysplastic syndrome. Jim was born to George and Wahlecia "Bobbie" Sims on August 8, 1933, at the family ranch in "el Grande Nada" SE of Pastura, New Mexico. Jim was the fourth baby boy for George and Bobbie. George Thomas "Tommy" their firstborn, was followed by Edgar Joseph "Joe", Robert Richard "Rich", Albert Dee "Al" and Jim. On their sixth try, George and Bobbie got their girl, Betty, who would become Jim's lifelong friend and partner in mischief. In 1941, George and Bobbie bought a home in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, to make it easier for the kids to go to school. Jim had to quickly learn his place in the pecking order in the "big" school. The city kids soon learned that they were smart not to mess with the Sims boys! As a youth, Jim was active in Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4-H, FFA, Sunday School, and later, was an adult leader for all of these youth groups. Jim graduated from Santa Rosa High School in 1951. He attended New Mexico State College at Las Cruces to study range management. During the summer break of 1952, Jim married Fredericka Utz. This union resulted in five wonderful children. That fall, Jim resumed his studies as student aide in the Telemetry Processing Section of the Physical Science Lab which analyzed telemetry data from rockets and guided missiles being test fired at White Sands Missile Range. Jim was given a full-time job there in 1954, with the rank of assistant analyst analyzing telemetry data from rockets and guided missiles test fired at White Sands. Eventually, Jim was made a project leader for analyzing telemetry data from radar guided, ramjet-propelled, surface to air missiles developed for the U.S. Navy. In 1961, he earned a B.S. degree in agronomy, soils option and completed his M.S. degree in soils in 1962. In June, Jim accepted the position as a Lab Tech II in the department of Soils and Plant Nutrition at UC Riverside. He earned his Ph.D. in soil science in the fall of 1966, accepting the position of assistant professor of soils in the agronomy department at Montana State University. This position was a split appointment of research and teaching. Jim taught courses, advised and guided students, and conducted lab and field research on the MAU research farm and on farmer/rancher owned land throughout the state. This was some of Jim's most enjoyable work and allowed him to make lasting friendships with farm and ranch families. Jim's schedule and long hours took a toll on the marriage which ended in divorce. As time went on, Jim met a Montana girl, Toni Scheiffele. Toni and Jim loved the outdoors, fishing, hunting, skiing, hiking, etc. They were married September 16, 1972. He was promoted to full professor in 1973. They decided to take a leave of absence from MAU and signed a two-year contract with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization as soil fertility expert, duty station Tripoli, Libya. They moved to Libya, and after learning they had been greatly deceived by Jim's new boss about living conditions, medical services, etc., tried to settle in. Their daughter, Dayle Scheiffele Sims, was born that fall. One year was enough of the UN-FAO bureaucracy and the Libyan government. Jim, Toni and Dayle headed back to the USA where Jim landed a job as visiting professor at Oregon State University for the 1976 to 1977 academic year and set up living in Corvallis, Oregon, where Erik Scheiffele Sims was born. Jim and Toni moved back to Bozeman in June 1977 and resumed his position as professor of Soil Management at MSU, teaching upper division and graduate courses. Jim and his graduate students began researching cropping systems, especially cereal/legume rotations on the MSU farm and on farmer-owned land. This led to the reintroduction of pea and lentil production on dryland farms in eastern Montana, the introduction of Ley Farming with medic species, and an increase in the acreage of canola and other alternative crops. Jim's research program enabled him to receive an ongoing series of U.S. State Department grants in cooperation with Alexandria University and with the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture. The projects with Egypt had Jim making two to three trips annually to work with the Egyptian scientists and Bedouin farmers. He retired from MSU in 1997. Jim was preceded in death by his parents, George E. and Wahlecia Dell Sims; brothers, Tommy, Al, Joe, Richard; and son, Jim Jr. Jim is survived by his wife and best friend, Toni Sims, of Bozeman, MT; sister, Betty Solt, of Roswell, NM; sons: George II (Pam), of Albuquerque, NM, Erik of, Carlsbad, CA; daughters: Sioux Stevens (Mike), of Billings, MT; Dorothea, of Las Cruces, NM; Paula Vallejo (Jean-Noel), of Daytona Beach, FL; Dayle Davis (Jeremy), of Aliso Viejo, CA; twenty-three grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Jim had one helluva ride, was a long way from perfect, did some good for his fellowmen, didn't cause too much trouble and never spent a single night in jail! A celebration of life is planned for July 8, 2017, details to follow. Interment, Philipsburg Cemetery in Philipsburg, Montana. — Dokken • Nelson Funeral Service | 2016

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