Velma Ray Simms

Velma Ray Simms, age 90, died on July 7, 2016 due to respiratory failure and after a long struggle with kidney disease. She was born in Oakwood, Texas (Leon County) on March 8, 1926 to Robert Lee Key, Sr. and Emma Key (nee Gage). She was the youngest of seven children, having three sisters and three brothers. They all grew up on a truck farm during the Great Depression. She came to Houston as a teen and began making a living as a factory worker before and during World War II. Of all her various jobs, she was most proud of this employment since it not only involved her in the war effort but also allowed her to purchase her own home. She married Erwin William Simms, a locomotive engineer, in 1955. Their marriage produced two children, Thomas Wayne Simms and Debra Kay Simms. After marriage, she settled into the special role of "railroad wife," homemaker and Mom. Despite her own motherless childhood, she became a wonderful mother and grandmother. She is proceeded in death by her husband of 37 years, by her parents and by all six siblings. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Thomas W. Simms and Kim Simms, by her daughter, Debra K. Simms and by her grandson, Kevin Tran Simms, in whom she was especially proud.

To know her was to love her and she will be greatly missed by all. She had a "cute" child-like manner and though quiet and reserved, she endeared herself to all who got to really know her. She had a good sense of humor and she liked to playfully tease others. She was generous and well-known for her "green thumb." She loved gardening/yard work and giving others plants and flowers she had grown. She loved collecting coupons to give both to family members and to people whom had been kind to her. She had a great sense of fun and in the 1960's she made Halloween especially fun by accompanying her children and neighborhood kids on "trick-or-treat" adventures that lasted late into the night. She cherished animals and cared for our many family pets over the years. These included not only cats and dogs but also chickens, ducks, a parrot and a Shetland pony. She was a bit of an entrepreneur. At various times, she raised chickens and sold fresh hen eggs, groomed and sold poodles, sacked and sold pecans gathered from our yard, and held regular garage sales. Today, she will be laid to rest next to her husband. Their souls are in a better place, and as their grave marker reads, they are " together forever. " May they rest in peace and may we one day be reunited with them. Amen.

The family wishes to thank the staff of North Shepherd Kidney Clinic for their care over several years. Special thanks and appreciation goes to the clinic staff members Annie, Donna, Gloria, Lupita and Michael. We thank Dr. Qadeer, Dr. Malya and Dr. Shenoy for her care over the many years as well. The funeral services for Velma Simms will take place at the Brookside Funeral Home of Brookside Memorial Park, 13747 Eastex Freeway, Houston Texas 77039 on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 10:00 AM. Graveside services and burial will follow immediately. Visitation will begin at the funeral home on Monday, July 11, 2016 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM and on July 12, 2016 from 8:00 AM until services begin.