Mary Simmons

Mary Simmons

Services for Mary Simmons will be held Friday, March 28, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. at Fifteenth Avenue Baptist Church, with Reverend William Webb and Reverend Leon Ballard officiating. There will be a private burial prior to the service. Robert Barham Family Funeral Home will be in charge of the arrangements.

Mrs. Simmons, 83, of Meridian died Monday, March 24, 2014, in Meridian. She grew up in Bassfield, Mississippi, in a loving Christian home. While attending Mississippi College, she met her husband, Bob. She said it was love at first sight, and her eyes lit up when he came into a room throughout their entire life together. During their almost sixty years of marriage, Bob and Mary dedicated their lives to the service of God. In a letter to Mary just before their marriage, Bob pledged to "put God first in our marriage and keep you always by my side as we serve Him." Mary was a dedicated pastor's wife, a dynamic missionary (serving with Bob in Hong Kong and the Philippines) and a valued professor's wife at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, using her talents there as well. She was an accomplished pianist and organist, and she used her gifts often wherever she was. For over fifty years, she taught countless piano students. She will be remembered by many for her grace, positive attitude, endless energy, and southern hospitality.

She is survived by her daughter, Ann Brown(Al) of Meridian; her son, Doug of Meridian; her grandson, Robert Gardner of Meridian; her great-grandchildren, Kailynne and Kane Gardner of Meridian; her sister, Margaret Hudson of Sumrall; her brother, Paul Johnson (Vera) of Nebo, North Carolina.

She was preceded in death by her husband of almost sixty years, Dr. Bob Simmons of Meridian; a nephew, David Johnson of Wake Forest, North Carolina; and her parents, D.L. and Dale Johnson of Bassfield.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to Mississippi College, P.O. Box 4005, Clinton, MS 39058.

Visitation will be held Friday from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. at Fifteenth Avenue Baptist Church.