Robert "Bob" Garland Sims

Robert "Bob" Garland Sims, 78, passed away peacefully on July 17, 2024, surrounded by family at his home in Harper, Texas. He was born to Robert Walker and Pauline Sims on January 7, 1946, in Alpine, Texas. He married Patricia Airheart on June 6, 1970, at Dixon, Wyoming, and shared 54 life-filled years.

He dedicated 42 years to his local and national communities through the USDA Wildlife Services program. "If you enjoy what you do, you never work a day in your life," he often said, "and I never worked a day."

Bob began his career in 1969 as a District Field Assistant in Carbon County, Wyoming. In 1970, he returned to Texas as a "state hunter," accomplishing a personal goal of being on the historic King Ranch in South Texas. In 1973, he advanced to District Field Supervisor in Orange Grove, Texas. In 1986, he relocated to the Kerrville, Texas office as District Supervisor, from which he retired in 2011.

Significant contributions to wildlife management and predator control practices marked Bob's professional life. His ingenuity in developing innovative methods of animal damage control aided in more humane methods for coyote control, vulture and eagle relocation, and the origination of the Texas Oral Rabies Vaccination Program. His role as a radio communication technician helped develop methods of aerial hunting and course training during the early days of Guided Positioning Systems (GPS) technology. His design and construction of the "rooter gate" panel for feral hog traps is widely used today. The Department of Agriculture recognized his achievements in 2005 with the Bill Spalsbury Award and noted his Kerrville shop as "the best in the state."

Bob's passion for ranching and hunting began in his youth and carried over into his professional and family life. He worked alongside his wife, Patty, to build a goat, sheep, and cattle ranch in the Hill Country. Over the years, fellow ranchers sought their knowledge and experience for everything from bottle feeding to building fences. Bob's children remember their first deer hunts with him in Alpine, and how each learned to draw a bow under his guidance. He was also active in other aspects of his children's lives, including 4-H, FFA, and Boy Scouts. The Harper High School Band benefited from his engineering talents over the fifteen-plus years the Sims children were active band members.

Under Bob's steady exterior, he had a sharp sense of humor that often surprised and delighted those around him. People were drawn to his stability and genuine personality as a natural leader in nearly every endeavor he undertook. He worked with the Texas A&M system to develop the TAMUK Rabbit breed and volunteered at numerous county fairs. He held board positions with the American Meat Goat Association, various other agricultural-related organizations, and the Harper Community Park Board.

He also had the honor and responsibilities as a Deacon for two Baptist Churches during his lifetime.  Bob was a prayer warrior and, even after he was unable to attend church services, he prayed for more than two hundred individuals every night. 

Bob's legacy is best described as one of protection. His life's work was to protect rural landowners from wildlife depredation. He was a leader who protected those who reported to him during his career. His daily concern, and his final concern in this world, was the protection of his family and their future. He protected words entrusted to him in confidence and prayed for God's protection of others daily. 

Bob is survived by his loving wife, Patty; son, Robert E. and wife Jackie of Comfort, Texas; son, Jody and wife Molly of Harper, Texas; daughter, Crystal [Ceynowa] and husband Scott of Harper, Texas; three grandchildren, Eleanor, Robert T., and Megan; brother-in-law John McFadin, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Mary McFadin.

The family invites all who knew Bob to fellowship with them on August 17, 2024, beginning at 2:00 PM at the Family Life Center (First Baptist Church) in Harper, Texas. Stop by, share your memories, and enjoy time with friends in Bob's honor.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the Hill Country Baptist Association, Attn: Texas Baptist Men, mail check to PO Box 294718, Kerrville, Texas 78029; or via online to the "Disaster Relief" Campaign at Texans On Mission's website https://tbmtx.kindful.com.

Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God". 

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