Benjamin W. Sims

Benjamin Wilson “Mr. Ben” Sims, 99, of Punta Gorda, FL, formerly of Atlanta, GA, passed away September 16, 2006. He was born August 28, 1907 in Rome, GA to Fred Powers and Evalina (Kirton) Sims. Ben was a WWII veteran, and received his degree from Birmingham-Southern College. He was an avid gardener, and a lover and collector of art, classical music albums and good literature, including many original Joel Chandler Harris works. In 1978, he commissioned well-known Italian-born Atlanta artist, Athos Menaboni, to paint in oils a collection of pairs of birds native to Georgia. The collection was established at the Walton McElreath Hall at the Atlanta History Center as a memorial to Ben’s first wife, the late Margaret Demmon Sims. This magnificent collection of twenty Menaboni oil paintings continues to adorn the wall there and was Ben’s gift of love to the Atlanta History Center. He was a member of the Azalea Chapter of America Rhododendron Society and, in 1985, accepted responsibility to complete the Frank Smith Memorial Garden at the Atlanta History Center. Commissioned to finish the gardens was Gordon Tyrell of Callaway Gardens who trained at the Royal Horticultural Society and designed the Winterthur Garden for the Duponts. Ben assumed the financial responsibility for the progress of the garden and completed it in 1988. He will be greatly missed by his wife, Rebeca Lucero Avendano Sims; sister, Catherine Anville Sims of Birmingham, AL; stepdaughters, Kena Alonso of Punta Gorda and Carmen Wilson of Pinehurst, NC; stepson, Claudio Avendano of Atlanta. Ben was preceded in death by his parents, first wife Margaret Demmon Sims and brother John Erwin Sims. A memorial service will be on Saturday, September 23 at 11:00 am. at the Punta Gorda Chapel of Larry Taylor Funeral and Cremation Services. Memorial donations may be made to Tidewell Hospice and Palliative Care, 1144 Veronica St., Port Charlotte, FL 33948. To express condolences to the family please sign the online guest book.