Elisabeth Sims died peacefully June 29th at the Deerfield Retirement Community.
Born in 1926 to Trousdale Wills and Robert Sturdivant, she was raised in Nashville, TN. She graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in biology.
In 1948, she married a dashing Associated Press reporter who was working in Chattanooga.
Watson’s work took them to London and then to New Delhi. In India, Elisabeth mingled in the yeasty ex-patriate world of scholars, diplomats, spies and journalists. She went tiger hunting on a maharajah’s estate and skied in Kashmir. She also worked as a teacher at the American School and for the Fulbright Foundation.
They moved to suburban New York, where Elisabeth taught school in New Rochelle and started on a master’s degree at Columbia University.
They moved to Battle Creek, MI in 1971. Elisabeth finished her master’s at Western Michigan University and worked as a vocational counselor at Kellogg Community College.
They moved to Rocky Hill, NJ in 1978, where Elisabeth was worked at a state program to help women enter the workforce. She received national recognition for her work.
They moved to Asheville in 1996, where she had many friends and interests, including bridge and tennis.
Even as her health declined, she maintained a lively interest in the education and career plans of those who took care of her.
She was preceded in death by Watson and by her daughter, Holly. She is survived by her son, Dr. Winfield Word-Sims (Meg) of Asheville; grandsons Coen Lamont of Brooklyn and Brian Word-Sims of Boston; nieces and nephews, including her beloved Marie Maxwell of Nashville.
The family is appreciative of her long-time special friend, Bernard Boden, whose love, humor and intelligence were a continual delight. We also appreciate her helper of many years, Iris Hinze, and her hospice nurse, Macon Thoma.
A celebration of her life will be held at 2 p.m. July 13 at St. Giles Chapel on the Deerfield campus. In lieu of flowers, please contribute to the community college of your choice.
Asheville Mortuary Services is honored to serve the Sims family.
View the original obituary HERE.