Funeral Services for Betty Jane Simmons, age 85, of Brownwood, will be held Friday July 15, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. at First Christian Church on 2411 Coggin Avenue in Brownwood with Pastor Dick Williams officiating, interment to at follow Greenleaf Cemetery in Brownwood. Visitation will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening at Davis-Morris Funeral Home. Betty passed away on July 12, 2011 in Brownwood, Texas
Betty was born January 06, 1926 in Great Falls, Montana to Carl Edgar and Edna Mabel (Barnes) Steller. Betty was an only child and received a BA Degree in International Relations (Far Eastern Field) from Stanford University, (CA) in 1947. She married Larry Dale Simmons on June 29th, 1947 in Ventura, California. After marrying, she earned a teaching certificate from UCLA and taught for 12 years in California grade schools. Betty also took several creative writing courses and sold manuscripts to several magazines.
In 1968, she moved to Texas with her husband and two sons and became a social worker and worked for 20 years with the Texas Department of Human Services. She retired in 1990 and became a freelance writer, she was active in the Brown County Literacy Council teaching adults to read, the First Christian Church, and past-president and member of a Writer’s Club and critique group. She also gave book reviews and talks about illiteracy to various clubs, furthermore she enjoyed playing bridge. She has over 100 magazine credits, a published poetry book, and stories in several hard cover books. The Midnight Woman is her first novel published in 2001.
She is survived by her son, Jim Simmons of Austin, TX; two grandsons, James Harley Simmons of Thrifty, TX, and Colt Cowan; two granddaughters Diane Carr and Christi Spencer; also 6 great-grandchildren, Brenna and Lilly Carr, Conner and Kayle Spencer, Mason and Case Cowan, and one expectant great-grandchild; Helo Carr. She is preceded in death by her husband, parents, a son; Tom and a daughter-in-law, Ann.
Condolences may be left for the family at www.davismorrisfuneralhome.com
