Dr. Albert Gallatin Simms II was a surgeon, civic leader, and father of five who left an indelible mark on Albuquerque Academy. He passed away on April 21, 2019 at age 98.
His relationship with the Academy dates back to 1956, when he and his wife Barbara enrolled their son Albert III in the seventh grade at The Academy for Boys – Albuquerque Academy’s original name – only in its second year. As Albert recalled in an oral history recorded in 2001, it was a frugal operation. “[Headmaster William] Wilburn taught several classes, and he swept the schoolhouse after hours. He put his own money [into] books for the library. He brought a brown paper bag lunch and so on. He started this boys school on a so-called wing and a prayer.”
25 Years on the Academy Board
Albert was quickly recruited to join the Board of Trustees. He served for 25 years, as president of the board for most of those years. Because the board at that time handled financial matters and left the educational direction to the head of school, his role required hours of monthly board and committee meetings, as well as follow-up with school administrators, bankers, contractors, realtors, educational consultants, and local, state, and regional government officials.
As part of the family that was involved in the founding of Sandia Preparatory School and Manzano Day School, he was in a unique position to understand the educational needs of the community and to serve as a conduit to the financial resources of his uncle, Albert Gallatin Simms – a New Mexico banker, farmer, rancher, and lawyer, who was childless and fond of his nephew.
Gifts from Uncle Albert allowed the fledgling Academy to move to its 27-acre campus on North Edith and later to the Wyoming campus site, and his bonds served as collateral for a $50,000 construction loan. He later made interest payments on the loan and paid off the principal. The Simms family continued to provide financial support through gifts of land, securities, and shares of stock.
Albert’s devotion to Albuquerque Academy was unparalleled, says Academy Archivist Rich Adam. He gave so much time and effort, while running a full-time, private practice in general surgery and raising a family. “His legacy is that he and members of his family nurtured and strengthened William Wilburn’s dream of a first-rate independent school and brought it from birth to a very healthy maturity,” Adam says.
Devoted to One Another and the Academy
“I feel blessed to have had both Albert and Barbara in my life; they felt like caring ‘grandparents’ to the school and our students, and to me,” says Head of School Andrew T. Watson. “I’ve rarely seen two people love each other so much when they were together. And I’ve never known two people who have so changed the lives of others through their wisdom, effort, generosity and, yes, their love.
“Whenever I called Albert, his first sentence to me was ‘How’s our school doing, Andy?’ Our. For he knew that the Academy belongs to all of us in the community, starting with those first brave students and parents, along with founding Head of School William Wilburn, and extending through so many lives, and up to each of us today. Yet the ‘our’ refers powerfully back to Albert and Barbara, and the Simms family. They were, and are, a New Mexican treasure; our lives, and so many others, are better because of them. Just imagine where we might all be, what we might all be doing, if it wasn’t for their generosity and their belief in both the Academy and New Mexican families.
“The first thing I will do when our new head of school is named will be to tell him or her about the Simmses and the traditions we’ve built around honoring the Simms family at graduation each year. Their legacy and memory will live here forever.”
The Simms Auditorium is named for Uncle Albert; the Simms Library honors the work of Albert and Barbara, who passed away in October 2018. The Academy’s continued commitment to making educational excellence accessible to students of all means also celebrates the work of Albert and his uncle. In the school’s earliest days, Uncle Albert or a trustee quietly supported a student with limited means; today, 23% of students receive need-based financial assistance.
The school will lower the Academy flag for 10 days in memory of Albert and then celebrate the lives and contributions of both Barbara and Albert on September 20 at a Homecoming alumni event.
