Joseph William Sims, Jr., age 78, of Denver, Colorado, passed away on November 27, 2020. He is survived by his two children, Amy Margaret Sims of Aurora, CO, and Joseph (Jay) William Sims III of Westminster, CO, as well as his granddaughter, Saia Elizabeth Sims. Additionally, Joe has two younger sisters, Jerri Larinne Sims of Denver, CO, and Dionakaye Sims who is presently residing in the suburbs of Charlotte, NC. Joe’s large family also includes three brothers, Lewis Sylvester Sims of San Francisco, CA, Larry Hugh Sims of Long Beach, CA, and Aaron Dewitt Sims of Denver, CO.  

Joe was born on August 21, 1942, in Denver, CO. He attended Manual High School during his freshman and part of his sophomore years. Following in their father’s footsteps, both of Joe’s children attended and graduated from Manual High School.   

From Denver, the Sims family flew to Modesto, CA, in 1957 when Joe’s father was transferred to Ceres, CA, hired to continue his work as a Research Chemist with Shell Oil Laboratories. Joe completed his sophomore, junior and senior years at Modesto High School, where he won numerous awards as a member of the school’s debate squad. He then attended Modesto Junior College, eventually transferring to California State University, Fresno, and there he received his Sociology undergraduate degree in Social Work. Upon graduating from FSU, Joe worked as a social worker in Modesto for a couple of years before moving to Berkeley, CA, to attend Boalt Law School at the University of California. 

Joe loved cars. Growing up in Modesto, he voraciously read car magazines, his favorites being Motor Trend, and Car and Driver.  He purchased his first (and only) car while working as a social worker in Modesto. He relished his brand new navy blue 1965 Chevrolet Impala, a direct import order from out-of-state. Despite Joe’s glaucoma and vision handicap, he once drove his brand new car around the neighborhood block, his mother a front seat passenger. Joe’s mother was faithful to drive him to all of his scheduled appointments during his stint as a social worker.   

In Berkeley, Joe met his wife, Judy, while attending law school, and the two later married and had their first child, Amy. Joe graduated from law school in 1973, and the trio moved to Denver the same year of his employment at the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). His work there allowed him to serve as an advocate for people of color, including those with disabilities. Jay was born in 1974. Divorcing soon after, Joe eventually purchased a house exactly one block down from his children so he could be close to his aunt Vivian and simultaneously remain physically close to his children.   

One of the most remarkable things about Joe was that he was visually impaired for most of his life, going completely blind in his 50s. Nevertheless, this impairment never slowed him down. He was always out and about: skiing (both downhill and cross-country), bowling, playing “Beep” baseball, attending church, working out at the gym, auditing classes on the Auraria Campus, going to Rockies games and working behind the counter to serve drinks there, volunteering to read with students at the elementary school where Amy worked, participating in a monthly prison ministry with Jay, hosting home barbecues, traveling overseas to places like Japan and Taiwan, riding his tandem bicycle, and going out to eat at favorite restaurants and eateries. 

Later, Joe persuaded his mother to sell her home in Modesto, CA and move into a Denver house for sale, directly across the street from him, one house over. With Joe’s aunt living next door, his mother residing across the street, his children living down the block, and a sister having set up household in her own home, a 15-minute walk away, the Sims family fairly dominated Niagara Street for a spell. This pleased Joe tremendously, as family was very important to him.

Joe was most certainly a social butterfly and attracted many friends. He loved hosting back-yard barbecues at his home, surrounding himself with family, friends, food, and fun, and his favorite beer, being Red Dog. He strove to keep the family “junk burger” recipe alive. As his cousin Doris Faye wrote, “Our Grandpa Robinson created the junk burger using ingredients like green peppers, onions, corn, tomatoes, okra & any other veggies (all from his huge garden [in quaint Cherryvale, Kansas]) mixed with ground beef plus seasoning. Ohooo so good!” 

As a Christian, Joe had an unwavering faith in God. He spent 32 years sharing God’s Word with inmates throughout his prison ministry (Kairos then Ekklesia). For many-a-year, his son, Jay, chauffeured and assisted his father on these monthly visits. The duo was a very popular ‘father and son’ pair whenever they visited the prison. Most of the prison inmates they visited were people of color, making Joe and Jay particularly popular as African American men themselves. 

Joe served as an attorney, was a mentor, a friend, a servant of God, a role-model, and a terrific father. He will be dearly missed by his family and his enormous group of friends. An inspiration to many, many people, Joe modeled that having a disability was no excuse for not following your dreams. A doer by nature, those are precisely what Joe Sims accomplished!  

-Thank you Jay, Aunty Kaye and Uncle Lewis for helping me write this.