Funeral services for Mrs. Bessie Lee Lynch Mitchell Simmons will be Saturday, January 18, 2020, at 11 a.m. at Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church, Anniston, Alabama, with Pastor Rev. Jeffery Earl Mills, presiding. There will be viewing at the church from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. Interment at Edgemont Cemetery will follow the church service. Mrs. Simmons was born in Dallas, Georgia, August 26, 1924, and departed this life January 14, 2020. She was the youngest of 11 children born to Samuel Elisha Lynch and Bessie Stokes Lynch. Along with her parents, siblings George Washington Lynch, Marcus Albion Lynch, Amanda Lou Lynch, William Howard Taft Lynch, Pauline Bertha Lynch Rosser, Mary Geneva Lynch Daniels, Ellen Violet Lynch Davison, Samuel Elisha Lynch and Margaret Louise Lynch Belcher, preceded her in death. She also was preceded in death by husbands William Joseph Mitchell, Jr. and John Edward Simmons, Sr. She attended Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Ala., and the public schools of Paulding County Georgia and worked 32 in civil service at Fort McClellan. She also worked as a real estate broker after retiring from government service. Mrs. Simmons was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and Dorcas Art and Social Club. She joined Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church in 1945 and was a faithful member thereafter. Mrs. Simmons leaves to cherish her memory three daughters, Sandra Joan Mitchell Wilmore, Kathryn Joyce Mitchell and Carol Elaine Mitchell Johnson; three granddaughters, Karin Elizabeth Bell Seamons (David), Lesli Nichelle Johnson and Lauren Janine Johnson; and a great-granddaughter Aadya Janine Wilson and many nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives. She also is held close in the hearts of special friend Edward Wood and a host of other friends. Memorial contributions may be sent to The American Cancer Society.
Published in The Anniston Star on Jan. 17, 2020