Judge (Jay) Forrest Sims III, age 85, of Little Rock, formerly of Hazen, died peacefully April 13, 2016, at The Nursing & Rehab Center at Good Shepherd in Little Rock. He was a 32nd degree Mason, a Shriner, and a member of the First United Methodist Church in Hazen. The first half of his life, Jay was a cotton and soybean farmer in Sherrill, Arkansas. He later moved to Sherwood where he finished his career at Clark Machinery Company in Little Rock. Jay was the first open heart patient in Arkansas at the age of 5 at St. Vincent’s Hospital in 1935.
He was married to the love of his life, Elouise for over 50 years.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Judge Forrest Sims, Jr. and Elizabeth Ford Sims; his wife, Elouise Sims, and a son, Judge Forrest Sims IV.
Jay is survived by his son, Troy Lee Sims and wife, Becky of Ward, Arkansas; two daughters, Suzanne Cooper of Springdale and Vicki Harraghey of Corpus Christi, Texas; his sister, Elizabeth Ann Hutson of Lonoke; three grandchildren, Stephanie Wofford of Sherwood, Richard Forrest Sims of Ward, and Alexandra Marie Sims of Little Rock, and two great-grandchildren, Fernando Green and Yasmine Green both of Sherwood.
A celebration of his life will be held Saturday April 16, 2016 at 10:30 A.M. at the Westbrook Funeral Home Chapel in Hazen. This will be followed by a memorial service at 11:00 A.M. in the chapel.