The South China Morning Post remembered Mr Simms for his razor-sharp wit, mastery of English and grasp of Latin, and for schooling generations of reporters and sub-editors on the importance of good language, saving many a story from the trappings of tautology and verbiage.
His trademark dry humour would be displayed regularly on Facebook, often as sardonic one-liners or via his wildly popular 'tautology of the day' posts, many featuring his beloved dog Scrap.
From the Northland Age he moved to the Evening Star, where he was deputy news editor, and the NZ Herald, followed by stints in Britain (The Guardian, Sheffield Morning Telegraph), Australia (The Age) Singapore (The Monitor) and Hong Kong (Hong Kong Standard then the South China Morning Post).
According to the Post's obituary he would be remembered as a "firebrand editor" with high expectations and a true individual who often gave short shrift to so-called conventional wisdom or the "standard Western view."
Deeply competitive, he abhorred the bad use of English, and those who transgressed were unlikely to do so again.
On his Good Language website he wrote, 'Times are tough for our language, as mass media abandon time-honoured quality-control procedures and the days when no one's work reached the public without undergoing rigorous editing fade into pre-internet history.
'Time will tell whether this trade-off between credibility and cost will prove sustainable for outlets that need to be taken seriously. I suspect not.'
His son Damon, who lives in the Philippines, said his father loved Hong Kong with a passion.
Self-taught in Cantonese, he was "a decent cook" of his favourite local dishes, while Post editor-in-chief Tammy Tam said his knowledge of Hong Kong society, politics and government policies allowed him to speak with authority.
Mr Simms fell ill in the Philippines three months ago while on one of his regular visits to see his granddaughter Gabriella.
Home in Hong Kong, he was hospitalised with a leg infection, but subsequently contracted pneumonia.
He is survived by his wife Jean, two sons, three grandchildren, and brothers Danny and Paddy.
And while it had been many years since he had lived in the Far North, he had never lost touch with or his affection for it.
"In recent years he had a place at Kaimaumau, and he spent some months each summer there, fishing and enjoying the North he loved," brother Danny said.
"He said 'You can take the boy out of the North, but you can't take the North out of the boy,' but he also loved the East and Hong Kong, and enjoyed his life there.
