Obituary of Douglas Forde Simms

Douglas Forde Simms, 64, of Tampa, FL passed away Friday, October 30, 2009 at home, in his own bed, surrounded by friends and family. He was born in Irvington, NJ and moved to FL in 1985. Douglas served two tours in Vietnam as a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. After being Honorably Discharged from the Marines, he began a life-long love affair with the entertainment industry. For over two decades, he combined the written word with an artist’s view of the world to create promotional biographies and marketing materials for some of the entertainment industry’s brightest stars. His clients included Broadway Director and Tony Award winning dancer/choreographer, Wayne Cilento (“Tommy,” “Dream”); Rock Legend and Steppenwolf lead singer, John Kay (“Born To Be Wild,” “Magic Carpet Ride”); Donnie Wahlberg, film star and former New Kids on the Block lead singer (“Ransom,” “Sixth Sense”); and Chuck Negron, signature voice of ‘70s super group, Three Dog Night (“One,” “Joy To The World”). From 1988-1990, his popular international celebrity interview series, “A Chat with an Old Friend,” was published in Blue Suede Views. Among his many professional accomplishments, Doug recently toured throughout the eastern United States in 2002-2003 as the Road and Stage Manager for the Christian off-Broadway Musical, “The Rock & the Rabbi.” Additionally, he served as a consultant for various language arts publishers, and traveled the U.S. speaking to schools and universities on the “Writing Process: a craft from thought to finish,” “Multi-Sensory Reading Instruction,” and “Parental Involvement in Early Reading.” His first novel, “The Life and Times of Tucker Pitts: 1957-1963,” (James A. Rock & Company) was released in April, 2009. Along with co-writer Robert Henry, they teamed up to write the screenplay on Doug’s original story The Legend of the 13th Snowman. Full of a zest for life and a love for the Lord, Doug was a proud member of Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the VFW. He is survived by his wife of 33 years, JoAnn; three sons, Jeremy and his wife, Alisa of Atlanta, GA, Zachary and his wife, Sarah of Anacortes, WA and Justin and his wife Jennifer of Columbus, MS; sister, Cheryl Rosenfeld and her husband, Al of Asbury, NJ and five grandchildren, Rosie, Lola, Olivia, Ian and Austin. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Monday, November 2nd at Loyless Funeral Home in Land O’ Lakes. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 3rd at Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz. Interment will follow at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, FL. Words of comfort may be expressed at Loylessfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Life Path Hospice.hn glover death datepsychology and lung cancer