Wolf-Sims Clan Honored as First Family

"Baylor was in our blood," says Margaret Wolf Sims Bates '54. "We never thought of going anyplace else."

Four generations of the Wolf-Sims family have attended Baylor University, and the family was honored with the 2008 First Family of Baylor Award given by the Baylor Alumni Association. The award was presented on October 10 during the After Dark performance in Waco Hall during Parents Weekend, with a reception following at the Hughes-Dillard Alumni Center.

The first member of the Wolf-Sims family to attend the university was Ralph Wolf '21, a Baylor track star. Wolf was the head coach of the basketball team when the "Immortal Ten" tragedy occurred in 1927, taking the lives of several members of his team. Wolf survived the horrific bus-train collision and went on to serve as Baylor's athletic director, Waco's mayor, and the executive vice president of the Baylor Stadium Corporation that oversaw the construction of the current football stadium in the 1950s. Other members of the first generation were Ralph's wife, Doris Sewell Wolf (att. '20s), Henry '24 and Clara Spearman Wolf '25, and Wraymond '25 and Thelma Newsom Sims '26.

Making up the second generation were Mary Helen Wolf Van Zandt '44 and Jack Van Zandt '44, William Olds '52, Margaret Wolf Sims Bates '54, William G. Sims '54, Beverly Wolf Russell '57, Beth Sims McDaniel '63, and Ginny Sims Griffith '65.

Eleven third-generation members of the family received Baylor degrees. They include Henry '67 and Suzanne Van Zandt Durham '69, Janet Van Zandt Bass '73, Katherine Van Zandt Howard '73, William H. '80 and Lisa Hendricks Sims '80, Sarah Sims Jackson '81, Cynthia Sims Stratton Cutrer '83, Charles E. Russell Jr. '86, and Candace Russell La Forge '87.

The tradition continued with eight fourth-generation members of the family: Christopher A. Stratton '92; Julie Durham Zavodny (att. '94); John K. '00, MDiv '04, and Margaret Durham Burk '00; Lauren Howard '04; Mark '06 and Lauren Sims Reitmeier '07; and current student W. Michael Sims.

"Almost everybody in those first two generations were teachers," Bates says. In the succeeding generations, the family has produced counselors and ministers, attorneys, and business leaders. Bates adds, "We are very honored to have been chosen. It was a great time for the family to get together, as well as to enjoy the honor of this award."