Funeral service for Virginia Sims will be 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 23, 2016 in the Elgin First United Methodist Church with Rev. Nathan Mills, Dr. Gene Nease and Brother Gary Neighbors officiating.

Private family burial will be in the Fort Sill National Cemetery at a later time under the direction of Becker-Rabon Funeral Home (Lawton).

Virginia Sims, age 84, Lawton, passed away early Friday morning in her sleep at home. Virginia was born April 1, 1931 east of Lawton to Tom Richardson and Stella Nease Richardson. When she was three years old her mother passed away during child birth. She had two sisters and her father and step mother, Johnnie, later blessed her with four more siblings. She was raised east of Lawton in the Bethel Methodist Church and Central School district area and was a graduate of Central High School.

Virginia married Richard Roy Black of Elgin in 1950 and they had two daughters. Roy passed away in 1984. Virginia married Bob Sims on September 15, 1986. On that lucky day, she gained three children. Bob preceded her in death on March 12, 2015. She worked for Civil Service at Fort Sill, retiring in 1986.

She was a member of Elgin First United Methodist Church for almost 60 years. She loved her family, church and friends and hosted all the family and friends for gatherings and holidays. She loved to sing and was a member of the church choir and the Lawton/Elgin Sweet Adeline's with her daughters for many years. She was an excellent seamstress and spent thousands of hours at her sewing machine. She came from a large, loving "Nease" family and because her mother was the oldest of eleven children she was raised with her uncles and aunts just as though they were her brothers and sisters. She loved large family gatherings and having all of her family around her. She was a wonderful mother and "granny".

She is survived by her children and their spouses, Debra and Ron Hastings, Elgin and Denise and Rick Taylor, Mountain Park, Oklahoma as well as Mark and Debbie Sims, Lawton and Patty and Gary Neighbors, Elgin. She is "granny" to eleven grandchildren and seventeen great grandchildren: David Hastings and wife Crystal, Cyril; Connie Hastings and daughter Jordan, Elgin; Kami Hodges and husband Josh and children Braylen, Kylen and Makallen "Kali", Noble, Oklahoma; Michelle Cunningham and husband Jessie, Lawton; Tanya Casbeer and husband Troy, Ardmore, Oklahoma; Jill Johnson and husband Shawn and children Seth and Jake, Lawton; Lance Sims, Lawton; Kadie Melvin and husband Josh and children Bexley Smith and Nashlyn Melvin, Lawton; Nathan Neighbors and wife Jessica and children Lincoln and Nora, Elgin; Zachary Neighbors and wife Kealey, Meers; and Shane Neighbors and wife Samantha and son Kash, Alaska. Also surviving are her sisters, Leona Harris, Muleshoe, Texas, June Bruce, Seattle, Washington and Linda Goad, Muskogee, Oklahoma.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her step mother, daughter, Nancy Lewellen, sisters Tommie Rogers and Nell Marks, brother Jimmie Richardson, many aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces and cousins.

Memorial contributions may be made to Elgin First United Methodist Church, 619 G Street, Elgin OK 73538.