Kenneth A Nims passed away Thursday, September 2, 2021 at his home surrounded by family.  He was 70 years old.  Mr. Nims was born to the late William H. and Theresa D. Speaks Nims on February 20, 1951 in Camilla, Georgia.  He spent the first eight years of his life in Oceanside, California where his father was deployed aboard a Naval ship during the Korean War.  The family moved to Joplin, Missouri in 1958.

Ken graduated from Parkwood High School in 1969 and attended Missouri Southern State College, where he was a member of the Mu Sigma chapter of the Sigma Nu fraternity in 1970.  He enlisted in the US Air Force and was stationed at Nakhon Phnom, Thailand as part of the "The Secret War" task force at Alpha Air Base during the Vietnam War.  He was a member of the Strategic Air Command Elite Guard at SAC Headquarters Offutt Airforce Base in Bellevue, Nebraska from 1973 to 1977.  His unit provided security for the SAC Headquarters and protection of the Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Air Command.  He was honorably discharged in 1977 at the rank of Staff Sergeant.

In 2011, Ken became a 100% disabled veteran and retired from his job as a master finish carpenter for Greene County, Missouri.  Ken was a past member of the Sons of the American Revolution and served as an officer of the Sergeant Ariel Nims Chapter #1 of the SAR.  He was past member of the Joplin Kiwanis Club.  Ken's happiest hours were spent fishing and hunting across the United States.

He married Bonnie Louise Summers on November 1, 2003 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. She survives.

Additional survivors include a son, Robert J. Nims and wife Christina of Springfield, MO, two step-children Brian D. Mashburn of Olathe, KS and Melissa S. Mathis and husband Sterling of Ozark, MO., a brother, William H. Nims and wife Pam, a sister, Cecilia T. Hempen and husband Tom, both of Joplin, MO.  He had nine grandchildren, Bella and Baylie Nims, Jordan, Parker, and Jensen Mathis and his wife Andrea, Spencer, Landon and Blake Mashburn along with two great-grandchildren, Aaden and Azlyn Mathis.

Graveside services with full military honors will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, September 9, 2021 in Missouri Veterans Cemetery, under the care of Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association or the Veterans of Foreign Wars.