October 1, 1940 - September 28, 2023
Dorothy Simmons, wife of the late Donnie Simmons, a former Bulloch County School Board member and local political activist, transitioned from this life into a life of eternal peace on September 28, 2023 at her residence, following a brief illness.
To those who knew and loved her, she was affectionately Dorothy, Dot, Dottie, Mother Simmons, aunt Dorothy, granny, or simply mama. Small in stature, her heart was as big as the south Georgia landscape which she called home for nearly 83 years. Her smile welcomed everyone she met.
As a Bulloch County native, she was the fourth of eleven children born to the late Ocea and Eunice Smith of Statesboro. She was a member of William James High School’s class of 1959.
Dorothy Smith Simmons and Donnie Simmons were married in 1961. Together, they were beacons of comfort, direction, and wisdom for their three children, five grandchildren, and countless others.
Her husband Donnie, departed this life in 2006, and a daughter, Glea Simmons Pruitt, in 2020.
Dorothy was a faithful follower of Christ. She joined Spring Hill Missionary Baptist Church at an early age and went on to make Statesboro’s Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church her spiritual home in 1990.
Through the years, she touched countless lives while serving as Tabernacle’s Assistant Sunday School Secretary, Secretary for the Mission Department, and Vice President of the Willing Workers Society Kitchen Ministry. She touched lives of many through her community service. For twenty-two years, she helped her neighbors in need through her work at the Statesboro Food Bank and the Mobile Food Pantry from Savannah. She was active of the Bulloch County NAACP, the Lions Club, and other local organizations.
In 2018, she received the Jefferson Medal and was chosen to be the Grand Marshall for the county’s Martin Luther King Day Parade in recognition of her community service activities. When asked why helping others was so important to her, she said, "that’s what the Lord wants us to do, help somebody". "And that’s my mission, helping somebody.”
Dorothy brought style and grace to everything she touched. For decades, she dressed countless grandmas and debutants while employed at Henry’s Women's Clothing Store, a staple in downtown Statesboro from the late 1950s to the 1980s. She was a gifted seamstress who made gowns and dresses and altered trousers and other apparel for folks throughout Bulloch County. Others will remember her as a talented decorator, a lover of the ‘good ole’ gospel songs, and as a master of down home southern cooking that tamed the appetites of her family, friends, church congregants, and those she just wanted to ensure were being fed.
Dorothy will be remembered, most of all, as a sweet, kind, and caring person with unshakable faith in Christ and his ministry of love, redemption, and justice her son, Victor (Sharon) Simmons of Statesboro, GA, her daughter Startabia Williams of McDonough, GA, and five grandchildren, Dylan Simmons of Atlanta, GA, Matthew Simmons of Atlanta, GA, Maya Simmons of Philadelphia, PA, Doneijha Williams of Atlanta, GA, and Daryhus Williams of McDonough, GA, all will forever carry loving memories of her in their hearts; two sisters, a brother, four sisters-in-law, four brothers-in-law, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and countless friends are also left to cherish their memories of her.
A visitation will take place on Friday, October 6, 2023, from 6 pm to 7 pm in the chapel of Hill's Mortuary, Inc.
The funeral service for Mrs. Dorothy Simmons, will be held 11 am, Saturday, October 7, 2023, at the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church with the pastor, Rev. Daniel Woodson, officiating. Burial will follow in the Bulloch Memorial Gardens.
Final rites have been entrusted to Hill's Mortuary, Inc.
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