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Fairmont will always remember James “Jim” Simser

ABOVE: Mat Mahoney (left), Jim Simser (right). Submitted photo.

FAIRMONT – The legend that is James “Jim” Simser will live on forever in the hearts and minds of not only the Fairmont sporting world but in every community he came into contact with.

Long after his days of coaching, Simser continued to be a mentor and friend to former players and colleagues alike.

Simser passed away at the age of 85 on Oct. 18 after a battle with cancer. His funeral service took place on Friday, Oct. 25.

Simser began his time as Fairmont’s head football coach in 1990 and stayed with the team until 1999, ending that chapter of his life with a 223-91-1 record cementing his status as one of the greats and earning his spot in Fairmont High School Hall of Fame in which he was inducted 24 years ago.

Long time assistant coach for Simser, Erin Elder, who joined the staff as a volunteer fresh off his college career as a player for South Dakota State University, remembers the time spent with Simser fondly.

“Jim didn’t really have an opening on his staff for me; the staff was full,” said Elder. “I had just finished up a career playing football at South Dakota State, and he said, ‘You know, I don’t have a paid position, but if you want to volunteer, you can join the staff and volunteer.’ That’s what I did, and I kind of worked my way in like that.

“I was very fortunate that number one, Jim, gave me a chance to start out and then once I got inside the program the lessons learned and the Xs and Os were one part of it, but probably a bigger part was just the respect that Jim had for his fellow coaches and his players and, the leader that he was, the charisma and ability to motivate that he had. We had a great amount of success in those years.”

In his time at New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva (NHREG), Simser led the team to two state titles and then decided to come to Fairmont, taking over the reins from Tom Mahoney Sr. Now two generations later, former player and current activities director Mat Mahoney continues to carry on the legacy of his father, Tom, and coach Simser.

“Really he kind of got out of his comfort zone and he came to Fairmont in 1990, which I think is tough, tough to do that to get outside your comfort zone,” said Mat Mahoney. “It takes a legend to replace a legend, for him having to come in and replace Tom Mahoney [Sr], and Jim himself was a legend by just being able to do that … great success before he came to Fairmont and he had great success when he was at Fairmont.”

Mat Mahoney also recalled many of the successes he shared with Simser.

“He took us to the MetroDome in 1992 and then followed that up with back-to-back state bids in ’96 and ’97,” Mat Mahoney said. “Just an overall good coach, good mentor. He was the athletic director and football coach when I was coming through. Everything was always done right. It was always done with class.”

Off the field, Simser was a family man, philanthropist and mentor with some of the most memorable moments to Elder having nothing to do with football but just the time spent with him. Sometimes it was the Sunday night coaching clinics where Simser would enjoy a meal prepared by his loving wife, Winn Ann, and golf outings with the fellow coaches.

“Jim was great with the players,” said Elder. “He had kind of a dry sense of humor sometimes. He was very impressionable and I say that in a funny way. He had some great mannerisms, but he could laugh at himself at the same time. He also did such a fantastic job in hiring assistant coaches that fit the puzzle pieces.”

Simser went beyond the game itself teaching life lessons along the way.

“He held you accountable,” said Mat Mahoney. “I think at the end of the day his number one job was to make us into better people, make us better young men. That’s what he did. I think he did a good job of shaping us into young men and I think that was one of his big focuses of just making us better people, along the way we got to learn a lot of football from him, too. He was a very successful coach and very successful teacher.”

Brian Grensteiner, former player under Simser and current Fairmont Area Schools Grades 3-6 principal, said Simser would often check on him after his playing days.

“Numerous occasions he would check in on me, ask me how I was doing,” said Grensteiner. “As I was moving through my own journey through coaching and education, he always had so many encouraging words and was always letting us know how proud of us he was. And that really has always stuck with me, the encouragement. He’d always tell us how proud of us he was. And so that’s who he was to his core. He had his faith, he had his family, he had his service mindset always and really wanted to help others and serve others.”

Stepping away from the field changed nothing for Simser’s call to serve his community. He spent his time mentoring up-and-coming teachers at Mankato State University and even spent time as a bus driver for CREST, not to mention staying active within Kiwanis, Knights of Columbus, Dollars for Scholars, and, last but not least, St. John Vianney church.

Whether it was spending time with his grandkids, playing cards on a Friday night with the Good Old Boys & Girls retired teachers’ group or sitting under the lights watching his beloved Cardinals play, he cared deeply about the community around in a way that not many do.

Though his time has passed, his legacy will live on forever.

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