Lena Sims Rowell

Lena Mae Sims Rowell, age 81 of Gardendale, Alabama passed away peacefully on September 15, 2024. She was born on August 4, 1943 at home in Muscadine, Cleburne County, AL to the late William McKinley Sims and Geneva Roberts Sims. She was married for 62 years to Edward Franklin Rowell, who preceded her in death in 2023.

Lena was a beautiful beacon of unpretentious light, enriching the lives of others by her unselfish love, ever present kindness, and steadfast friendship. She cherished God and her family and friends above everything else, and she was a cancer survivor for over 30 years. She possessed a genuine deep love, faith, and trust in Jesus Christ and was a loyal and selfless friend of many, ready to lend a helping hand to anyone who needed it.

Lena graduated in 1960 from Cleburne County High School in Heflin, AL at the age of 16, the youngest in her class. Lena’s life-long pride and joy was her family. She was a wonderful mother and homemaker, but she also worked a number of jobs over the years: a teller at AmSouth Bank, regional office manager at Air Technology Transportation Services, cashier and clerk at K-Mart, as well as a seamstress at Liberty in Birmingham and Sewell’s in Bremen, GA. She enjoyed a wide variety of hobbies including genealogy, quilting, cooking, ceramics, and traveling. She also enjoyed volunteering with her children’s education as Room Mother, PTA member, and Gardendale High School Band Booster. Lena was a Godly woman and enjoyed her church family at Gardendale First Baptist Church and truly loved the people in her Sunday School class.

Lena is survived by her two sons, their spouses, and children, Michael E. Rowell, his wife Ginger Holmes, and their children Alisa and Joseph; Randall T. Rowell, his wife Kelly Holmes, and their children Carter, Abigail, and Noah; her beloved sister Clois Sims Wisener and brother Donald W. Sims; and many extended relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her beloved sisters Elois Sims Crawford and Mary Sims Wisener.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, September 18, 2024 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm at Ridout’s Gardendale Chapel. A Celebration of Life Service, led by Minister George Weeks, will begin at 2:00 pm. Burial will immediately follow at Oakwood Memorial Gardens, in Gardendale. After which, the family would like to invite everyone to a reception celebrating the life of Lena in the Fireside Room at Ridout’s Gardendale Chapel.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests donations be made to SouthernCare New Beacon Hospice (417 Main St NE, Hanceville, AL 35077), Meals on Wheels of Jefferson County (3620 8th Avenue South, PO Box 320189, Birmingham, AL 35222), or The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (PO Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741 or give.michaeljfox.org).