Dr. B. T. Simms Jr.

He was born in Corvallis, OR to B.T. Simms, Sr. and Lillian Lalonde Simms on June 12, 1923. He moved to Auburn, AL, in 1937 and graduated from Auburn High School in 1941 where he was on the football team and was ranked as the top men’s singles tennis player in Alabama.

He served stateside in the U.S. Army and then in the Merchant Marines. In 1947 he married his high school sweetheart, Mittie Jones, and they were married 66 years. He graduated from Auburn University with a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1950 and taught at Oklahoma State until 1952 he then moved to Pontotoc where he lived for 64 years. He had a veterinary practice for 14 years and then worked as an Inspector in Charge for the USDA until he retired.

“Doc” engaged in many community service activities. He helped plan and build the first Pontotoc tennis courts when he was a member of the Lions Club in the 1950’s. He served on the board of the Pontotoc Library, the Pontotoc Beautification Committee, and the Historical Society. He had his own mile in the Adopt a Highway program. He collected aluminum cans and donated the proceeds from the cans to a Christian youth program in Pontotoc County. He donated 750,000 can tabs to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis to fund chemo treatments for children. He also donated fish and funds to the New Hope Pentecostal Church and McDonald Methodist Church.

In 2006 the Senior Center building was named the B.T. Simms, Jr. Community Center. With the help of his fishing buddies, Doc furnished the bream for a monthly fish fry for 20 years at the Simms Center. He was also named the Mississippi Outstanding Senior of the Year in 1993 by the Joint Conference on Aging, and received the Mississippi Older American Award in 2009.

Services will be at 11 AM Monday, June 13, 2016 at First Baptist Church in Pontotoc with Dr. Ken Hester officiating; burial will follow in the Pontotoc Memorial Gardens. Browning Funeral Home in Pontotoc is in charge of the arrangements.

His survivors include his children: Susan Weatherholt and husband Richard of Brandon, MS, and B.T. “Tom” Simms, III; three granddaughters: Whitney Weatherholt Horton, Courtney Weatherholt and Annaliese Simms Cothron,two great-granddaughters, Kelsie Cothron and McCartney Rose Cothron, and a brother, John Donald (Jack) Simms and wife Jo.. His caregivers who assisted him were Linda Pinson, Tonya Green, Earma Satterwhite, Naomi Dixon and Arnez Green.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife and two sisters: Elizabeth “Mimi” Simms and Marjorie Simms McLean.

Pallbearers will be Johnny Rayburn, Colby Horton, Ross Fleming, Jim Johnstone, Cleveland Joseph and Jon David Naugher. Honorary pallbearers will be: Bobby Bigham, Hugh Day, Joe Grissom, Roger Langford, and Jon Van Buskirk.

Visitation will be Sunday from 5 to 7 PM at Browning Funeral Home and Monday from 10 to 11AM at First Baptist Church in Pontotoc.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Three Rivers Area Agency on Aging-Nutrition Program, P.O. Box 690, Pontotoc, MS 38863 or to First Baptist Church, 31 W. Washington Street, Pontotoc, MS 38863.