Annette S Simmons

Annette Simmons died peacefully on Friday, October 4, 2024, at the age of 85 with her husband of 64 years, Alexander Jackson Simmons, by her side.  She was preceded in death by her parents, Euel Augustus and Elsie Wallace Screws, her brother Euel Augustus Screws, Jr. and her great-granddaughter, River Lynn Simmons.  She is survived by her husband, Alexander ("Alex") Jackson Simmons; her sister, Joyce Hartung of Colorado Springs, CO; her sons, Alexander Jackson Simmons, Jr. (Janine Brown) of Atlanta, GA  and William Alan Simmons (Mendy) of Dadeville, AL; her grandchildren, William Carlton Simmons (Catherine), Alan Jackson Simmons (Meghan), and Julia Brown Simmons; and her great-grandchildren, Sadie and Cooper Simmons.

God gifted Annette a grace that shone in all her relationships, whether that be as wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, or neighbor. She was a faithful member of Saint James Methodist Church, and to seek the face of Christ in others was not just a faith statement to her, but her way of life.  Although some debated whether her "lemon freeze" or "chocolate wafers" reigned as her crowning culinary achievement, it was of universal agreement that her Thanksgiving turkey was never dry and that her gravy never had too much salt, despite her protestations to the contrary. And although she was undeniably happy sitting by the lake with her own fishing rod in hand, her greatest joy came in baiting a grandchild's hook and watching them bring in their first fish.   

Annette was born and raised in Opelika, Alabama, where she met and married her high school sweetheart, Alex.  She attended Auburn University and was a member of Kappa Delta sorority, suspending her studies to move to Birmingham in 1960 with her husband. In her mid-twenties, with two rambunctious pre-school boys in tow, she resumed her collegiate studies, graduating in 1970 from Samford University Summa Cum Laude with the highest grade point average of her graduating class. In addition to being a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, she excelled as an educator in the Auburn City school system and later as a real estate agent. Late in life, with the deftness with which she did all things, she took up golf, accomplishing what her husband, the love of her life and a single digit handicap golfer, had never managed to do--make a hole-in-one. And she did it twice.  She will be greatly missed. 

A graveside service will be held on Saturday, October 12 at 10:30 a.m. at Memorial Park Cemetery, 1000 East Samford Ave, Auburn, AL 36830.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the American Brain Foundation, 201 Chicago Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55415-1126 or the Alzheimer's Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave. Floor 17 Chicago, IL 60601.  Online condolences may be left at www.jeffcoattrant.com/obituary/Annette-Simmons#tributewall.