Robert Simmons

Robert Hugh Simmons joined his heavenly Father and his wife Ruth Ann on October 20, 2020, at the age of 92. Mr. Simmons was a native of Hattiesburg, MS, and was a resident of Ocean Springs since 1968. He was a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi and a member of the USM Alumni Association. He was a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars and served in the U.S. Navy for twenty years. During his first years in the Navy, he served in several Navy fighter squadrons and aboard numerous aircraft carriers, including the U.S.S. Sicily, Essex, Wasp, Hancock and Constellation. Following his service in the Navy, he was employed as a training specialist and curriculum developer at Keesler Air Force Base for twenty-two years. Mr. Simmons was an active member of St. Paul United Methodist Church, where he had served on numerous church committees and was a past chairman of the Church Administrative Board. His favorite church activity was that of making a ‘joyful sound’ as a member of the church’s Chancel Choir. Mr. Simmons was very active in the Masonic fraternity and its philanthropies. He was a past master of the McLeod Lodge #424, F&AM in Ocean Springs; a past patron of Ocean Springs Chapter #394, O.E.S.; a Knight Templar in the Biloxi York Rite Bodies; and a 33rd degree Scottish Rite mason in Gulfport. He was a dedicated Shriner and was a past potentate and past recorder of Joppa Shriners in Biloxi. He was also a past president of the Dixie Shrine Association, a past director of Court #184, Royal Order of Jesters, an emeritus representative to the Imperial Council of Shriners International, and an emeritus member of the board of governors of the Shriners Hospital for Children at Shreveport, LA. Mr. Simmons was an avid golfer and a former member of the South Mississippi Seniors Golf Association. He was a person who loved life and all persons. He was especially known for his good sense of humor. He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Ruth Ann Simmons, whom he loved dearly; his parents, Frank G. and Elsie E. Simmons; and his eldest sister, Beatrice Helm. He is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Elaine Simmons MacMahon and Gordon MacMahon of Sarasota, FL; a son and daughter-in-law, Robert Frederick Simmons and Sylvia Simmons; a grandson and his wife, Justin and Ling Simmons; two great-grandsons, Kai and Kam Simmons; a great granddaughter, Khloe Simmons; three sisters, Ann Pope and Patricia Taylor of Baton Rouge, LA, Frankie Sunderland of Spencerville, OH, and a brother, Allen Simmons, of Junction City, AR. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, October 28, at 11:00 AM at St. Paul United Methodist Church, Downtown Campus. Friends may visit from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM until service time. Internment will be at the Biloxi National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to the Shriner Hospital for Children, 3100 Samford Avenue, Shreveport, LA, 71103, or to the St. Paul United Methodist Church, 800 Porter Street, Ocean Springs, MS, 39564.