Margaret Anita Simmons Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Margaret Anita Simmons passed away Saturday morning, February 4, 2017 at her home in Butte. She was born November 20, 1953 in Gainesville, Texas to Ernest and Juanita (Holly) Martin. She was raised and educated in Gainesville and earned her teaching degree from North Texas State University in Denton, Texas. Anita and Gloyd Anderson Simmons were married in Gainesville on October 6, 1979. Anita taught in Red Oak, Texas, for several years before they moved to Butte in 1980 to live, work, and raise their children. Anita worked as a special education teacher at Powell County High School for several years before accepting a teaching position in the Butte Public School System and serving as a special education teacher at the Whittier, Emerson, and Margaret-Leary Schools until 2002 when she retired with 24 years of teaching experience. She loved working with the children in her classroom and always had wonderful stories to tell about “her kids.” Anita served as a reader for local spelling bees and worked with Special Olympics for many years. She enjoyed playing bridge, working in her flower gardens, and making sure that all the wild birds that visited were well fed. Anita lived her life to the fullest for 30 years with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). She never complained, was always happy, and felt that she was very lucky because she was doing just fine. She was an inspiration to her family and friends because of her great attitude and determination to not let MS slow her down. Anita is survived by her husband, Gloyd "Mike" Simmons, sons Matthew and Michael Simmons all of Butte, her mother and step-father, Juanita and Marshall Hampton of Gainesville, Texas, brother, Ernest Martin, also of Gainesville, and sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Kay and Claude Richards of Beaumont, Texas. Also surviving are her nieces and nephews: Brandon Martin, Dustin Martin, Jeff (Kim) Richards, Diane (Henry) Hoffmann, Gregg (Lorrie) Richards and Susan Richards. She is preceded in death by her father, Ernest Martin and her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Gloyd A. and Caroline "Maude" Simmons. Memorials may be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, http://mymsaa.org, or the national Humane Society, http://www.humanesociety.org, for Anita’s love of animals.

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Margaret Anita Simmons

November 20, 1953 - February 4, 2017