Michael Simms' Obituary
Michael Simms was born in Parker, Arizona on the 9th of December 1953. He was a member of the Navajo Tribe. His parents were Calvin Simms and Marian Soundest. He was placed with a foster family, the Wulffenstein's, at about one year old. In later years he was able to reconnect with his Native American mother, brother and sister. Both him and his sister were amused to see how closely they resembled each other.
No much is known about Michael's childhood but his foster parents were well to do and he was obviously well taken care of. From his Wulffenstein family he learned to play the piano, organ, violin and guitar. Michael had a beautiful singing voice which he would share when he had the opportunity. He was a guest singer with the Tabernacle Choir, and he knew and sang with Shirley Temple. He played the piano in the Lion House. He was invited to sing at Lagoon on occasion. He sang with the BYU Young Ambassadors. He worked as a baker for awhile. He was a chorister in the Navajo Branch Primary. People enjoyed hearing him sing the congregational hymns in the LDS wards which he was in and he usually sang with the ward choir. He enjoyed doing ceramics. He was rebaptised on August 19, 2017. Near the end of his life he was the pianist for sacrament meeting.
Michael had a lot of health issues, struggling with asthma, obesity and complications of diabetes. His kidneys failed and he had to have dialysis the last few years of his life. He couldn't take care of himself anymore so he had to stay at Avalon Care Center where he made a lot of friends. He was very sociable and enjoyed interacting with people. He enjoyed watching movies, especially LDS and Christian movies.
He developed pneumonia and died on Sunday morning, May 20, 2018.
Michael has no surviving family members.
A graveside service will be held on Wednesday June 6, 2018 at 10:00 AM at Mt. Olivet Cemetery located at 1342 East 500 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84102.
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