Micah Sims came to Texas A&M with the ambition to follow in the footsteps of Texas country music singers Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen. Two years after he was admitted, Sims, a sophomore English major from Huntsville was well along the way to accomplishing that goal, playing on Northgate and opening for country singers Randy Rogers, Django Walker and Stoney LaRue.
“When I heard him for the first time, I was an instant fan,” said Ashlee Hiser, a sophomore animal science major and a friend of Sims. “He was at peace when he played. You can’t imagine a party without Micah playing at it.”
On Dec. 29, only two days before Sims’ long-awaited New Year’s Eve show in Huntsville, Sims died in his home after sustaining head trauma from a fall. His death was ruled accidental.
“He had a lot of talent,” said Kyle Hugghins, a sophomore business major and a friend. “All of us thought, ‘Yeah, he would’ve done something … he would’ve made a name for himself.’ What hurts the most is realizing that something so good is gone now. We’ll never be able to hear Micah play his guitar again. I mean, the thousands of people he would’ve touched – that just won’t happen now.”
Debra Sims, Micah’s mother, said music was Micah’s life and passion.”He’s out there daydreaming all the time,” Mrs. Sims said. “When you look at his notes, he had pieces of songs written all over them. He wrote (a song) during finals when he was supposed to be studying, and that’s typical Micah.”
He began taking piano lessons at the age of 7, but didn’t really begin writing Texas country music until his sophomore year of high school. While at A&M, Micah took first place at the Memorial Student Center talent show and won a country radio contest. He was also one of few chosen to perform at the Major League Baseball All-Star Fan Fest in Houston this past summer. Micah wrote his own music and lyrics and was working on a CD before he died.
Hugghins said it is saddening that Sims’ talented career was cut so short. “He was probably one of the kindest, most genuine people I knew, with a talent that had the potential to reach many, many people,” Hugghins said. “Years from now, people would’ve been saying, ‘Man, I knew that guy Micah Sims.’ They’re missing out on something really great.”
Mrs. Sims said that her son was always humble, upbeat and easygoing, loving life, A&M and his friends. She said Sims wasn’t an A student by a long shot, but that she was proud of him nonetheless for plugging on. “He was a goofy 19-year-old kid, but he had a heart and he loved life,” Mrs. Sims said. “It’s a blessing because we had 20 years of that, but it’s also a deep hurt because he was so easy to love. We kind of lost a special guy.”
Hiser said Sims was always fun to be around, and that he was the only person that could get her out of the dorm and away from homework. “You just picture Micah, and you picture a smile,” Hiser said. “Micah had this way of when he walked into the room, everything – life – felt simple. It didn’t matter about the test you had next week, or the problems that you had; it was about being right there and living life.”
Chris Mahlen, Sims’ youth minister, said Sims was a man of deep Christian faith and had compassion for others, a side of Sims that some didn’t see.
“I think Micah was trying to figure out how to be authentically Micah and authentically Christian, and I think he was discovering that,” Mahlen said.
Mahlen said Sims’ death is a tragic loss for the community as well as for Sims’ parents and two younger brothers.
“All this is extremely sad and devastating, but we as Christians don’t believe that this is the end,” Mahlen said. “Micah is OK, and Micah is experiencing real life right now.”
Hiser said although Sims’ death has been hard, she is trying to be positive.
“I know he’s up in heaven looking down, and he doesn’t want us to be sad,” Hiser said. “He wants us to have a smile on our faces like he always had.”
A memorial fund has been set up for Sims at the Bank of America on University Drive, and copies of Sims’ songs and lyrics are located at www.micahsims.com. Sims’ father, Kelly Sims, said the family is producing Sims’ CD, which should be out for release soon. The proceeds from Sims’ CD will go to a scholarship fund.
“(Micah) was a wonderful bundle of joy,” Mr. Sims said. “If God would’ve told me, ‘I’m going to give you this gift, but you can only have it for 20 years,’ I’d take it in a heartbeat.”