Memorial for Paul C. Simms (1932-2023)

Professor Paul C. Simms served on the Purdue faculty from 1964-2001. He was Professor of Physics and a member of the leadership team for the Purdue Rare Isotope Measurement Laboratory (PRIME Lab).

Paul passed away on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, at Franciscan Health in Lafayette. Paul was born November 10, 1932, in Jackson, Tennessee to the late John C. and Nellie (Corn) Simms. He is also preceded in death by his older brother, John.

Paul spent his youth exploring the waterfalls and gold mines around the North Georgia town of Dahlonega, a place he loved and about which he told many fond stories. Paul proudly served in the US Army as part of the Signal Corp.

Paul received his BS in physics from North Georgia College in 1953 and completed his PhD at Purdue in 1958. During his doctoral studies at Purdue, Paul met Shirley W. Wright, and they were married on June 27, 1959, in Rochester, New York. Shirley preceded Paul in death on April 9, 2020.

After graduating from Purdue, Paul was a Post Doctorate staff member at Columbia University before returning to Purdue to join the faculty in 1964, where he served until his retirement in 2001.

For many years Simms worked with his colleague, Frank Rickey, directing the Prime Lab in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Purdue.

Paul loved students and loved to teach. He was quoted by The Exponent in 2001 as saying, “I loved being a Purdue professor, students are great fun to work with. I loved going to class to teach. I love giving people something useful and they loved getting it.”

Simms said his most fond memory of Purdue is meeting his wife, Shirley, while in graduate school. He considered his greatest professional accomplishment receiving the Spira Award for Excellence in Teaching. Simms won the award in 1990 for his excellence in teaching undergraduate physics.

In addition to his courses, Simms mentored and supervised many students in the PRIME Lab. Simms noted, “I wanted the students to have the experience of working with real science, not just in the classroom.”

Paul was a member of and served in many roles at Covenant Church. His passions were the harmony between faith and science and leaving a legacy for his children and grandchildren. He loved Jesus, people, flowers, mountains, electronics, music, and every display of Glory large and small. 

Paul is survived by his children, Karen Tharpe of Lafayette and Randy Simms of Elmhurst, Illinois, and their families.

 

Family contact: Karen Tharpe (daughter), karen.tharpe@gmail.com

References

Obituary text and photo retrieved on January 9, 2024 from https://www.jconline.com/obituaries/ljc065798

Exponent Article from 2001, retrieved on January 9, 2024 from https://www.purdueexponent.org/features/article_cefa565d-70ac-5ac1-9732-e660b12ccf67.html, Author Jamie Teibel