GVRD Board of Director, longtime activist Sims passes away
Tragedy hit Vallejo on Friday as longtime activist and Greater Vallejo Recreation District Board Director Karen Sims passed away at the age of 67.
Sims had been on the board since Jan 1, but her career in advocating for youth and public service spanned nearly four decades.
“She was a remarkable, loving and decent person,” Vallejo Mayor Bob Sampayan told the Times-Herald on Monday. “She was always there for everyone. She stood for all the different causes we all worry about. She will be so, so, so missed. She touched so many lives in a positive way. I’ll always remember how she was a big advocate for people.”
She was deeply interested in planning, zoning and regional cooperation and earned a bachelor’s of science degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Urban Planning. Throughout her career/working years she continued to be involved with setting policies, working with institutions and building community. She taught technical classes and helped develop skill training. With a team of managers, she became a certified mediator as well as a certified instructor in communication, listening skills, labor-management collaboration and even developed curriculum in ethics and workplace skills.
Sampayan, a longtime friend, said he got a phone call from
Sims’ life partner on Friday saying Sims had died due to a “sudden illness.” Sampayan, who had talked with Sims two days earlier, said he was “shocked” at the passing.
“I had talked with her two days earlier ( Wednesday) and we had a lengthy conversation,” Sampayan said. “She was in the hospital, but said it was no big deal and she would be fine and she hoped to be home soon for the holidays.”
When Sampayan ran for Vallejo mayor in 2016, Sims was Sampayan’s campaign manager.
“I always sought her advice because she was so level-headed all the time,” Sampayan said.
In her first job in Atlanta, Ga., Sims worked to help delinquent boys assigned by the courts to a residential program, her GVRD bio states. In this job she discovered a passion for working with people and building community. She also learned about policy making, navigating the world of institutional rules, laws and regulations, drafting and proposing legislation.
After leaving Georgia, she began working on media campaigns for the Peace Corps in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana and Oklahoma. She came to California and worked for the Social Security Administration for 38 years in San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Richmond, Oakland and San Mateo.
After retiring, she spent f ive months traveling around the country talking with people and visiting new areas, searching for the perfect city or town in which to retire. Ultimately, she fell in love with Vallejo. Since moving to the area, she has been involved with Better Vallejo, Participatory Budgeting, hosting Cal Maritime students and other community organizations and initiatives.
She became a GRVD Board of Director in January of 2020, replacing Wendell Quigley. In a TimesHerald article that ran soon after her hiring, Sims stated that sustaining the agency’s after- school program and repairing the John F Cunningham Aquatic Complex in East Vallejo were some of her major goals.
GRVD General Manager Gabe Lanusse said he didn’t work with Sims in person as much as he would have liked due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but was still sad to hear of her passing.
“I got a call from Quigley on Friday and I was stunned. I’ll always remember when she was first getting interested for being on the GVRD board she called me up and wanted to chat for about 10 to 15 minutes. That instead became a lengthy two-hour conversation,” Lanusse said, with a laugh.
“On a personal level I thought she was fantastic and cared about the community so much,” Lanusse continued. “This is very hard news to take. She always felt that youth needed opportunities. She wanted the GVRD to reinvent itself during COVID-19. She was also always proud that the GVRD staff was going out and still cleaning up the parks all the time.”
Lanusse said that a lot of the GVRD staff that did work with her a lot, were also shocked of the passing.
“There was a lot of staff that talked with her a lot on Zoom and they keep telling me this completely came out of left field,” Lanusse said. “Our condolences go out to her entire family.”
Lanusse said Sampayan has told him that Sims role will be filled, but isn’t sure when the process will begin. Her term was supposed to last until Dec. 31, 2023.
Sampayan said he has been talking with Sims’ life partner, but a date and time for a funeral has not been announced.
“Karen was truly a pillar in this community,” Sampayan said. “She was a person respected by so many. She had the best intentions for the community at the forefront of her mind. That’s going to be missed a lot. My heart is still aching. This one is going to be very difficult for me.”