Rev. Charles Sims, Pastor of Glendale Baptist Church

Story furnished by Clarence Crocker



Rev. Sims and his family lived on the Cannons Campground road just outside the city on Route 1, Spartanburg, S.C. They had a modest home with a small acreage on which Rev. Simms raised a vegetable garden.

This writer remembers Rev. Sims as a gentle, soft spoken man with an inspiring gospel message. He always had a warm smile, a firm hand shake and kind greetings for those he met. He was loved and deeply appreciated by the church membership and community. He served as Pastor of the Glendale Baptist Church some four years; 1936-1940 and had one son, Samuel E. Sims, to enter the ministry.

Excerpts from the obituary of Rev. C. H. Sims published December 19, 1958; “The Rev. Charles H. Sims, 76, died in a Columbia Hospital Wednesday night following a brief Illness. Mr. Sims had been in the Baptist ministry for 36 years and had held Pastorates at Glendale, Thompson’s Chapel, Piedmont, Fairview #2 and Bethesda Baptist Churches. He was also a Mason. Survivors were; his wife, Mrs. Essie Sims; two sons, Samuel E. Sims of Hickory, N. C. and Charles A, Sims of Spartanburg; one daughter, Mrs. Stella Threatt, Spartanburg; two brothers, Sandford Sims of Greer and Will Sims of Westminster; two sisters, Mrs. Emma Littlefield of Woodruff and Miss Mary Sims of Roebuck; eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Funeral service to be conducted at the Drayton Baptist Church with interment following in the Sunset Memorial Garden.”

Excerpts from the obituary of Mrs. Charles H. Sims published 10, 1968; “Mrs. Essie Estelle Hill Sims, 81, died in a Hickory, N. C. hospital. She was the daughter of the late Charles William and Annie Lou Curry Hill and a member of the Drayton Baptist Church. She was survived by; daughter, Mrs. Stella Threatt, Spartanburg; sons, Charles of Spartanburg and Rev. Samuel Sims , Hickory; eight grandchildren, thirteen great grandchildren. Funeral services to be held in the Drayton Baptist Church with interment to follow in the Sunset Memorial Garden.”

Federal Census and Spartanburg Herald Journal obituaries courtesy of Spartanburg County Library.

Clarence E. Crocker, December 2012.

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