It is with profound sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of our mother, Jessie, at age 96 in St. Petersburg, FL. She was a cherished mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend to many.

Mom was born in Chillicothe, Ohio to Burch and Myrtle Simmons. She was the oldest of 8 children and is now survived in the Simmons family by the youngest, Gladys Simmons(also in St. Petersburg) and Lois Simmons, a cherished sister-in-law (and frequent travel partner) in Ohio. The Simmons family was a close one and they lived in a white, 2-story farmhouse on a hill overlooking the Hocking River in Guysville, Ohio. As a young child, mom would frequently spend summers with her Aunt and Uncle in Greenfield, Ohio, getting there on the B&O Railroad, where her dad was employed (and later retired with 50-years of service).

Mom was an RN having graduated from White Cross Hospital in 1948. In 1948 she was working at the VA Hospital in Jefferson Barracks Missouri where she met Lloyd Frederick Goforth (a WWII Army veteran from Missouri) and they married in 1949. The marriage produced 3 daughters and a son. After Dad had a serious illness in the 1970s, he retired from work and they moved from the St. Louis area to St. Petersburg. Both Dad and sister Barbara passed away in their late 50s. Family survivors include daughters Cheryl and Mary Louise who both live in Florida and son David who lives in TN with his wife Elizabeth.

Growing up in the St. Louis, Missouri suburbs our family frequently got together with Dad’s side of the family where he was the youngest of 7 siblings. Many aunts/uncles/cousins lived around St. Louis and in the Missouri Ozarks and we frequently visited grandpa Goforth in his 3-room house along the creek with a woodstove to cook on, woodstove for heat, hand pump for water and an outhouse. It would be a steamy hot August day in the house, but mom would cook pies from wild picked berries and can fruits and vegetables on the woodstove. At night there would be a window fan for cooling and mom and dad would sleep in the feather bed and complain of backaches the next day. Infrequently, our family would travel by car (at least once on the B&O Railroad) to SE Ohio (which was mostly 2 lane highways in the 1950-60s) and spend time with the Simmons side of the family. Spouses and 20+ nieces/nephews would meet for vibrant family gatherings at the house in Guysville. Until the house was partially remodeled in the 1960s, it also featured an outhouse and outdoor well with a rope and bucket.

Mom ultimately retired from full time nursing in 1994 while working at Bay Pines VA hospital in St. Petersburg where she received the prestigious ‘Hands and Heart Award’ from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for her compassionate care. Patients would ask for her by name. After retirement she continued to work part time as the on-duty nurse at a nursing home. Besides many surviving nieces/nephews from both sides of the family, mom is survived by 4 grandchildren Terry Gilley, Kevin Gilley, Kathleen Hummel, Melissa and her husband Shawn Abbuhl and 2 great-grandchildren Mason and Jackson Abbuhl.

Mom was a lifelong Methodist and up until she could no longer drive, she was very active in her church in Gulfport, FL. When quizzed about the afterlife, she would say “I am in no hurry to go as I would miss my many friends here”, and she had a bunch of them as she rarely met a person who did not become a friend. You might get her opinion on a ‘hot’ politico topic, but you were not likely to engage in a heated conversation.

Throughout her life she was a passionate gardener. When mom/dad first moved to Florida in the late 1970s, they started bowling. In later years, she was very active on a bowling team and traveled the US to bowling tournaments with her team, occasionally having a 200 game. Until age sidelined her driving, she was also fond of taking road trips (via many backroads) to Ohio and Tennessee to visit family. She may be gone, but will not be forgotten. She will be buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetary with our father