LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
This month’s Free Laundry Day at J’s Laundry is sponsored in loving memory of a fixture of the Paris Community.
Debra Lynn Sims, who passed away on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, was a vocal music teacher for many years in the Chrisman and Paris school districts. After retiring from teaching, she found peace in her love for books as the assistant librarian at the Paris Carnegie Library.
The Free Laundry Day on Jan. 16, is meant to be a testament to “honor her kindness, compassion and the love she shared with those around her.”
The free service will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until funds are depleted. Transportation to and from the event is available if arranged up to 24 hours before the event by calling 217-549-7954.
Sims played the trumpet in the City Band, directed her church choir and volunteered as one of the community’s Advent Choir Directors.
Sims was laid to rest on Sept. 26, 2025, in the Fairview Cemetery in Kansas, following a service at the First Assembly of God church in Paris.
She is survived by her siblings: Mike (Jan) Throneburg, Darla (Sean Pruiett) Foster and her significant other of many years: Vernon Chambers, as well as several nieces and nephews.
It is her surviving friends and family, alongside local groups like the Care Coalition, HRC, Edgar County ROSC, Lake Ridge Christian Church and the Sage and Prim Foundation that make free laundry events possible.
The Edgar County ROSC, and its community partners, would like to thank Sims’ friends and family for “supporting our community in such a meaningful way.”
For more information on Friday’s event or any other future laundry day events, contact the Edgar County ROSC.