Frederick Luther Simmons was born Nov. 30, 1930, the youngest of seven sons of George E. Simmons and Martha (Moxon) Simmons. His mother passed away on his first birthday. His father was remarried to Louise Steuben while he was still a very young child.
Fred was a 1949 graduate of Lee High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in June 1949. During 1949, he also met his future wife, Barbara Dobson, whom he married Oct. 1, 1950. He was sent to Korea in December 1950 and returned in February 1952. He and Barbara settled in Lee in the Cone Park area on Tyringham Road. He took a job working at the Peter J. Schweitzer, later Kimberly-Clark, paper mills. Fred enjoyed hunting and fishing in the local area, vegetable gardening, woodworking, spending time with his large extended family and being a great dad. He and Barbara loved to travel around the country and into Canada. Fred and Barbara celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with family and friends in October 2010. He lost his beloved Barbara in September 2011.
He leaves his daughter Marlene Simmons-Trefethen and husband Kevin Trefethen of Laconia, New Hampshire; his son Frederick Jr. and wife Deborah of Lee; his son Kenneth of Portsmouth, Virginia; and grandchildren Sarah and Aaron Simmons of Pittsfield. His daughter-in-law Charlotte (Furlong), Fred Jr.’s first wife and mother of Sarah and Aaron, passed away in 2002. He also leaves numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services for Frederick Simmons Sr. will be held Friday, Oct. 20, at 11 a.m. at the Kelly Funeral Home in Lee with the Rev. Bill Neil, pastor of the First Congregational Church in Lee, officiating. Burial will follow in Fairmount Cemetery. Visiting hours will also be Friday from 10 a.m. until the time of the service. Friends wishing may make donations in his memory to the Berkshire Humane Society or to the Lee Youth Association in c/o the Kelly Funeral Home, 3 Main St., Lee, MA 01238. For a full obituary, visit www.kellyfuneralhome.net.
