Dominican Sister of Peace Grace Simms, OP, (90), born in Loretto, KY, died on April 25, 2024, at Sansbury Care Center, St. Catharine, KY.
Grace was born to Mary Leona Ballard and Charles Chester Simms. She entered the congregation in 1953 and spent the last 69 years as a professed Dominican Sister.
Sr. Grace loved to study and earned an Associate of Arts in Business from Saint Catharine College, a Bachelor of Arts in English/Business from Siena College, a Master of Arts in Business Education from Catholic University and another Master of Arts in Theology from the University of Dayton.
She put her education to good use, first as a teacher in Kentucky and Nebraska and then as an English teacher in Vietnam. At the collegiate level, she ministered as Registrar and Admissions Director for Saint Catharine College and later as both Campus Minister and Director of Alumni. She further used her gifts as a Pastoral Minister and Associate in Kentucky, Illinois and Tennessee.
Of all her ministries, she held a special place in her heart for her time as Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for The Caring Place, which serves victims of domestic violence in Kentucky. She was essential in fulfilling the mission of assisting victims of abuse to start new lives.
In her reflection, Sr. Pat Twohill remembered Sr. Grace for her "amazing heart, deep love for God, and warmth that put a new retreat presenter at ease”.
At her funeral Mass, life3-long friend Sr. Teresa Tuite said that "like Jesus, Grace loved with a fierceness, faithfulness, and deep loyalty. Even in her Liturgy selections, Grace never made it about Grace. Instead, she took the readings as an opportunity to remind her beloved community that nothing will separate us from the love of Christ, and nothing will separate us from the love she had for us.”
Sr. Grace is survived by seven sisters: Evelyn Edelen, Vernice Simms, Betty Blair, Geraldine Keysor, Rita Ann Harrod, Jane Carol Thompson, and Margaret O’Bryan along with several nieces and nephews.
A welcome service was held on Monday, April 29, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday, April 30. All services took place at the Sansbury Chapel. Burial in the St. Catharine Cemetery.
Memorial gifts in Sister Grace’s name memory may be submitted securely online or sent to the Dominican Sisters of Peace, Office of Mission Advancement, 2320 Airport Dr, Columbus, OH 43219.