Twenty years ago today, Warren Sims ran to an Ensley convenience store and never made it home.

The 28-year-old husband and loving stepfather to three children was killed by two men who gunned him down as he tried to run from them. They then robbed him of his wallet.

Those suspects have never been arrested but his family remains hopeful even two decades later.

“You did all of this and for what?’’ said Sims’ wife, Lisa Craig Taylor. “How do you live with yourself?.”

It was a Saturday night when Sims left home to go to the store in the 2400 block of Ensley Avenue. Police said two men followed him out of the store and opened fire when he ran from them.

Wounded and dying, Sims was able to tell the police what happened and give descriptions of his assailants before he died in surgery at UAB Hospital.

Sims had played football at Fairfield High School and became a Christian about six years before his death after one of his friends was murdered.

After that, his family said, he’d preach to anyone who would listen. It was at church that he’d met Taylor and they married within six months.

He became a father to her three children, who were ages 12, 9 and 7 when Sims was killed.

Sims earned a technical degree in computer-aided drafting and had started a new job as a truck driver for Ross Neely Systems.

His death happened less than two weeks before Christmas. He had made reservations at a hotel penthouse that had a fireplace so he, his wife and the kids could open presents in front of a crackling fire.

The family never dreamed he would be killed, and they certainly never imagined his case would still be unsolved 20 years later.

“It’s frustrating and it’s also sad,’’ Taylor said. “It was sad that he was taken from us but it’s frustrating that nobody can find it in their heart to allow our family to have justice.”

Each year, near the time of his death, his loved ones change their Facebook profile pictures to Sims’ picture, not only to remember and honor him but also in hopes of sparking someone with information to come forward.

“We desire for the people responsible to be held accountable,’’ Taylor said. “Somebody knows something. That is our plea to the public – help us get this justice because that’s going to help us all have our closure.”

“It won’t bring him back,’’ Taylor said, “but it would give us closure.”

The children are now grown, and two have hildren of their own.

“They always reflect back on the ‘what ifs,’ because he was such a good husband and father,’’ Taylor said. “They think about what if he had been in their (the grandchildren’s) lives.”

Taylor said there are constant reminders of her husband’s death.

“Anytime I see the news, there’s so much crime going on,’’ she said. “It’s so senseless … there’s constant reminders of homicides.”

“You’ll never forget your loved one,’’ Taylor said. “They say time heals all wounds. I can’t say that’s true, but you learn how to adjust.”

“One thing I’ve learned in my life is I focus on what I love, not what I’ve lost,’’ she said. “You learn to appreciate every moment because the reality of tomorrow is not promised.”

Sims’ mother, Catherine Holton, said the loss of her son stays with her always.

“I suffer with PTSD and that’s something I’m just not able to get over,’’ Holton said.

For 10 years after Sims died, she was forced to relive the heartbreak every day. She worked at the UAB School of Dentistry, which was across the street from the coroner’s office.

“I was just looking at the building across the street from me where I left my son on a slab,’’ she said.

“I’m doing much better,’’ she said, “but my heart aches every day.”

Both women long for justice.

“That is what I try to focus on,” Taylor said, “that one day we will receive justice and have closure.”

“I want whoever committed this murder, I would like for them to live in prison but given a chance to be saved,’’ Holton said. “I do believe in being saved. That’s my wish for that person. From day one, I’ve believed that.”

“I don’t dwell on exactly who it was because it would run me really into the deep dark end,” Holton said, “but I do want that person found and to pay for they’ve done to this family and all of his friends.”

There is an undisclosed amount of reward money for information in Sims’ slaying.

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.