Audrey M. Simmons (July 4, 1928 – September 4, 2023) went on to the loving arms of her Savior Monday morning with her sons attending, after a brief cardiac upset in the days before.
She is predeceased by her husband Dave and one son, also David, and survived by her brother, Kenneth Milton, three of her sons, Peter, Paul and John, two daughters-in-law, Dorothy and Kathy, and two granddaughters, Rebecca and Sarah.
Born in Cleves, Ohio, she was a small-town girl who cherished her upbringing and her lifelong friends and those early years when her father would play bluegrass and country guitar at home with others on weekends. She was one of those screaming girls who loved Frank Sinatra in his heyday (and life-long), for his voice and blue eyes despite his ways. She became a Christian in her teenage years. She was a lady who was devoted to her church life and singing alto in the choir from a young age, waiting for the right young Christian man to join her in her life. Dave was that man, who married Audrey in 1950 after dating just a few months. She and Dave raised 4 boys during a period where their fortunes raise incrementally over the years, always working hard to provide for their offspring and themselves. She and Dave settled first in Cincinnati, then in Richmond, Virginia, then finally in Virginia Beach, where her children attended Kingston Elementary then First Colonial High School.
Audrey and Dave were faithful original members of Westwood Hill Baptist Church, later transferring to First Baptist Church of Norfolk. Audrey and Dave, while active, up until their late 80s, were there at church three and four times a week, and most always taking their children under their wings, at least until they became adults. Audrey was a stay-at-home mother until her youngest was 10, helping to make ends meet by selling Avon beauty products. Then she took a job that she loved, working for Windsor Woods Library, where she could be the first to get her hands on all the latest biographies of Hollywood stars and starlets and other famous personalities. Reading was her passion. Her bookshelves attest to that. She worked hard every day, but loved the interaction with people. Working there helped the family get by.
Audrey and Dave both sang in choir, and she especially enjoyed doing Cantatas and Christmas Celebration – yearly extravaganzas they performed at First Baptist.
Audrey and Dave enjoyed their retirement together, constant companions traveling across America, visiting distant cousins and other friends and relations. They went on many trips with the church’s Senior group, Young At Heart. Later years they spent hours relaxing and reading across from one another in their den. Her son Peter moved back in with them and provided extensive support when their ability to drive diminished, and through most of the past decade until their facilities faded and strength gave out. Peter’s faithfulness enabled them to be cared for at home. Dave passed away in 2020.
She was kind-hearted and loving, but particular. She loved chocolate covered cherries, but wouldn’t eat more than one a day. She couldn’t think about getting another cat after her kitty passed away. She gave and gave, the way many mothers give. She was beloved and exasperating. Sweet and infuriating. She was beautiful and beautiful.
