Obituary of John Meredith Simms

John Meredith Simms, 93, of Daleville, went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Sunday, June 26, 2016. He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Lorraine Glenn Simms; daughter and son-in-law, Dr. and Mrs (Sarah) Lanier, of Wake Forest, N.C.; son, Dr. John Simms Jr., of Greensboro; grandchildren, Jonathan (Kathryn) Lanier, Elizabeth (Alex) Crutchfield, Peter Simms; great grandson, Jaxon Crutchfield and daughter-in-law, Kathy Simms, of Jamestown, N.C. Simms, a native of Raleigh, N.C., was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. R.N. (Virginia) Simms Sr., of Raleigh, N.C. He was preceded in death by four brothers and one sister, R. N. Simms Jr., Rev. Albert E. Simms, Dr. Stewart B. Simms, William G. Simms and Mrs. Albert (Anne) Haskins. Simms served in the Army in World War II, rising to the rank of Captain and concluding his three and a half years of service as the Asst. Medical Supply Officer of the 8th Army in Yokohama, Japan. Before and after Army service, he was the second Herbert Worth Jackson scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated as the president of Phi Beta Kappa and then attended law school there. He graduated law school as a member of the UNC Law Review staff. After law school, Simms engaged in a private, mostly civil, law practice in Raleigh for 18 years before going in 1968 to Norfolk Southern Railway Co. headquarters in Raleigh as Vice President and General Counsel. In Raleigh, he was a member of Tabernacle Baptist Church where he was chairman of the senior deacons and a Sunday school teacher. He was a member and president of the Civitan Club of Raleigh and for two separate years was the Civitan International Judge Advocate. He also served as the moderator of the Raleigh Baptist Association and was a member of the Jr. and Sr. Chambers of Commerce, the Executive Club, and trustee of Meredith College and a member of its Board of Associates. Simms moved to Alexandria, Va., in 1974, when Norfolk Southern Railway was purchased by Southern Railway Company. He joined the Southern Railway law department in Washington, D.C. where he supervised personal injury litigation across the rail system. Upon the merger of Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western Railway, his section of the law departmnet was located in Roanoke, Va. Simms came to Roanoke in 1983 and supervised the personal injury litigation arising from Southern Railway properties. He retired in 1989 and continued to live in Salem. At the time of his retirement, he was a member of the bars of North Carolina, the District of Columbia, and Virginia. In Virginia, Simms continued to be a Civitan and an active Baptist layman in the First Baptist churches of Alexandria and Roanoke. In each he served as a deacon and chairman of the deacon fellowships. For eight years, he served as a trustee of the Foreign (now International) Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. He was active in the formation of the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia and served on the founding Executive Committee and later as 1st Vice President. He was also a trustee of the Baptist Banner. He was an original member and founding president of the Board of Vistitors of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. In August 2005, John and Lorraine moved to The Glebe Retirement Community in Daleville, Va. and remained active for many years. A celebration of life service will be held in Faith Chapel of First Baptist Church 515 Third Street SW Roanoke, Va with Dr. Bryan Smith officiating at 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 29, 2016. The family will receive friends following the service. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials be made to First Baptist Church of Roanoke P O Box 2799 Roanoke, VA 24001, or to a charity of your choosing. Arrangements by Simpson Funeral Home & Crematory, 540-366-0707.