Capt. William Edward " Pappy" Sims, USN (Ret.) passed away 13 Jan 2005

Retired Navy Capt. William Edward " Pappy" Sims, 86, a resident of Annapolis for 42 years, died of pneumonia Jan. 13, 2005 at his home after a two-week illness.

Born July 8, 1918, in Tallapoosa, Ga., Capt. Sims was a member of the Class of 1942 at the Naval Academy, and played center on the 1939-1940 football team. He received a professional degree in aeronautical engineering from the California Institute of Technology.

During World War II, he served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lexington until it was sunk on May 8, 1942, and then on the USS Nevada and the USS Sawfish. He attended the Naval Post Graduate School in Annapolis and later served aboard the USS Pickerel. He was stationed in Point Mugu, Calif., and was aboard the USS Gudgeon and the USS Theodore Roosevelt. From 1967 to 1969 he was with Submarine Squadron 16 in Rota, Spain. He retired as a Captain in 1972.

Surviving are his wife, Martha Whigham Sims, whom he married June 16, 1942; two sons, William E. Sims Jr. of Arnold and James Charles Sims of Sugar Grove, W.Va.; two daughters, Donna Simms of Troy, N.Y., and Angela Costa of Lexington Park; seven grandsons; and two great-grandsons.

A memorial service was held at 10 a.m. Monday January 24, 2005 at the Naval Academy Chapel, followed by inurnment in the Naval Academy Columbarium. The family received  the inurnment following at the O&F Club.

Captain Sims was a life time submariner, a pioneer in the submarine missile business and the Commissioning Skipper of the Theodore Roosevelt, the third Polaris SSBN. Pappy had a wide circle of friends in the submarine community.

Memorial contributions may be made to the William C. Fowler Scholarship for Multiple Sclerosis Research, Foundation for Neurologic Diseases, 10 State St., Newburyport, MA 01950; or Dolphin Scholarship Foundation, Suite 104-A, 5040 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA 23642.