Beverly Simmonds

Beverly Simmonds, 88, of Madison, MS formerly of Macon, MS passed away on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at St. Catherine’s Village in Madison, MS.  A funeral service is planned for Monday, May 10, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. at Independent Methodist Church in Macon, MS with Bro. Doug Pierce officiating.  Interment will be in Mashulaville Cemetery.  A visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. until service time at the church. Memorials may be made to Independent Methodist Church, 1556 US 51, Madison, MS  39110, Independent Methodist Church, 511 N Washington St., Macon, MS  39341 or St. Catherine’s Village, 200 Dominican Drive, Madison, MS  39110. Cockrell Funeral Home is honored to be entrusted with arrangements. www.cockrellfuneralhome.com .

Beverly Elizabeth Ammann Simmonds was born in Pocahontas, Illinois on May 17, 1932 to the late Manual and Jennie Ammann. She was the second of four daughters: Phyllis, Beverly, Sharon, and Marilyn. She attended Pocahontas High School and was very involved in school activities. She was a cheerleader as well as playing in the band and played on the high school basketball team.

Following the marital tradition of her parents, on June 14, 1950 at the age of eighteen, Beverly wed Harold Simmonds.  This date coincided with her parents’ twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. The young couple soon purchased a farm in Greenville, Illinois where they raised their four children: Rick, Linda, Diane, and David. For many years she was her husband’s helper as well as a homemaker and a mother. Each year she raised a large garden for fresh vegetables and then either canned or froze the vegetables for the winter months ahead, all the while caring for her children.

In 1977, Beverly and Harold made a life altering decision to sell the farm and move to the Macon, MS area, where they purchased land. The entire family moved south and continued the farming tradition. By this time Rick had married Kathy and they had the family’s first grandchild, Bill. Rick joined his Dad in the farming business. The two youngest children, Diane and David, were still in high school during the move and quickly adjusted to the southern lifestyle. Their second child, Linda, was married to Mike and the couple soon moved south, along with their daughter Elizabeth, to join their family in Macon. More babies soon joined the growing family, including Jodie (Rick), Jim (Linda) and Tom (Rick). Diane married Kendall after graduating UMMC and had three children: Jonathan, Benjamin, and Christopher. David married Kim after graduating from MSU. David was responsible for bringing GG, a toy poodle, into the family. Rick’s wife Kathy was diagnosed with ALS and Beverly helped to take care of her until Kathy passed away at the age of fifty. Rick married Jeanette, who has two children and six grandchildren, all of whom were a wonderful addition to the family.

Of course, with having grandchildren, there soon follows great-grandchildren. Beverly has been blessed to have fourteen babies call her “Grammy” so far. They include Parker, Blake, Abigail, Dalton, Thomas Brodie, Ruby, Anniston, Tate, Scott, Graham, Kinsley, Poppy, Titus and Edee Kate.

Once the children had moved on with their lives, Beverly began a new career of managing the local TWL store in Macon, MS. Under her management, the store moved up from being rated the #17 store in the chain to being #1. After fourteen years of managing the Macon location, Beverly was offered the position for managerial hiring for the entire TWL chain. She travelled throughout Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi hiring managers for the next several years.

In April of 1997, after over forty-six years of marriage, Beverly lost her beloved husband Harold. She is also preceded in death by her sisters Phyllis and Marilyn and her son, Rick Simmonds.

Once she quit traveling so much, David decided that his Mom needed a puppy and so GG entered her life This “fur baby” quickly became a close companion and a comfort. In 2009 she and GG moved to St. Catherine’s Village in Madison, MS where they enjoyed all the new friends they made.  Beverly was a highly active member of the Independent Methodist Church in Macon until her move to St. Catherine’s Village where she joined the First Independent Church in Madison, MS. She remained a huge MSU Bulldog fan until the end.