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George Walker Simmons, Jr. passed away suddenly on Monday, January 16, 2006, after a fall on January 12 followed by surgery and a heart attack 3 days later. Up until the day of his fall he remained working as an independent income tax counselor and was an active participant in all of life. He was the beloved husband of the late Jane Reineking Simmons and the beloved father of daughters Barbara Jane Simmons Woods-Snyder and Marilyn Louise Simmons and the beloved son-in-law David Edward Snyder, all of San Antonio. He is also survived by his loving, beloved granddaughter Karen Elaine Woods of San Diego and David Sidney Friend; grandson Scott Alan Woods and his wife Stephanie Marie Woods; and Georges beloved and adored great-grandchildren, Walker Alan Woods, Whitney Marie Woods and Wren Elaine Woods all of Southlake, Texas. He was for 35 years an active member of Oak Hills Presbyterian Church of San Antonio. The son of George Walker Simmons, Sr., and Julya Grant Groff Simmons, George was born June 17, 1913 in Norristown, PA. He was predeceased by his only sibling, younger brother Chauncey Simmons, of Amherst, MA. George was raised in Amherst, MA on his grandparents dairy farm, known as Anatok Farm, from the age of 4 following the death of his mother. As a boy, George was very active in 4-H work, sharing in the raising of a world-champion Jersey butter-producing cow. He was a very active Boy Scout, attending at the age of 17 the World Jamboree of Boy Scouts in England, where he met the founder of the Boy Scouts Organization, Lord Baden-Powell. George graduated from Amherst High School and went on to study Landscape Architecture at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, where he has since established a scholarship for students of Landscape Architecture. He also studied at Iowa State University and the University of Wisconsin, where he met his bride, Jane Reineking. In later years, he had further studies at MIT in Boston. George and Jane were married in 1937 in Madison, WI, and cherished a long and loving marriage of 58 years. Living first in Santa Fe, NM, then in Madison, WI, where their children were born. He was a Landscape Architect and then Park Planner for the State of Wisconsin and active in environmental conservation. In Madison he was active in the First Congregational Church and the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association, and sang in a mens choral group. He was a student of the late Frank Lloyd Wright and studied under him at Taliesin, nearby. In 1950, the family moved to the Washington DC area where George accepted a position as a City Planner with the US Housing and Urban Development Administration. In 1955 he was asked to take a position in the branch office in Fort Worth, TX, and in 1970 joined the HUD branch in San Antonio. He retired in 1975. Following his retirement he began a new career as an income tax counselor serving as many as 100 clients, which he continued until the time of his death. While living in San Antonio he served as both Deacon and Elder in the Oak Hills Presbyterian Church and participated actively in the churchs many functions. For over 63 years he was a Scottish Rite Mason, raised to the level of 32nd Degree Mason. A brief Masonic Ceremony will be included in the Funeral Service noted below. He enthusiastically enjoyed fishing, gardening and the out-of-doors, and for over 50 years provided a loving, weekend home for his disabled daughter Marilyn. He traveled extensively, both with his wife before her passing and for many years afterward, from New Zealand to Europe, from Copper Canyon in Mexico to Alaska. He loved life and was loved by all who knew him. Services and Arrangements Visitation will be held on Friday, January 20, 2006 from 3:00 pm until 8:00 pm, at Mission Park North Funeral Home, 3401 Cherry Ridge Dr., San Antonio. Ph: 210/349-1414. The Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, January 21, 2006 at 3:00 pm at Oak Hills Presbyterian Church, 6739 Callaghan Road, San Antonio, TX 78229. Ph: 342-0271. Interment will be in Milwaukee, WI, at Forest Home Cemetery on Tuesday, January 24, 2006. George loved flowers and plants. For those who desire, flowers would be welcomed. Donations may also be made to the National Park Service.

Tributes

George Walker Simmons, Jr.

June 17, 1913 - January 16, 2006