When Mr. Leo Sims was buried at Beulah Cemetery on Jan. 25, the 30 or 40 people who stood there in the mud and rain were a reminder that all the whimsy of flowers and eulogy that we attach to funerals today pale in comparison to a life lived quietly and well.

His brief funeral, in line with his own wishes, was so striking. And all of us who stood there were witnesses — we knew his dedication to Beulah, and we fear for its future now.

We knew, as someone in that circle always said, that Leo went to that cemetery every day like he was going to a job; that he was pragmatic as well as generous. We knew he had forged quiet, behind-the-scenes commitments with Mayor Laurence Leyens to preserve and bring that cemetery back. We knew that he had forged a friendship with Corey Gibson and his brother and all their workers, men and women, who had first cut Beulah when it was vastly, hugely overgrown. We knew, and they knew, that he was one of them.

We knew he had rebuilt that shed where the first one had been, and gave his fees for upkeep to the small, struggling group that carried Beulah’s name. We know he welcomed, loved, and cheered the efforts of the kids from Vicksburg High School who came to Beulah to help.

I know he never faltered. I worked with him for a while, but my fire waned; his never did. Large as his commitment was, though, it was just one of many ways he helped. His devotion to Mrs. Bowie was total. And in her 90s, she stood foremost among the mourners at his graveside in the rain.

He had tended the yards of friends when they were out of town. He loved jazz and the blues. Leo had friends from his school days at St. Mary’s, from his work at Westinghouse and Cooper Lighting, from City Hall, and from nearly every neighborhood in town.

Leo knew and loved this city. And his green truck that signaled him before you ever saw his face is missing from the streets now.

Oh how we will miss him! Thank you, Leo.

Yolande Robbins

Vicksburg