Lorraine Channell Simmons

Our mother, Mrs. Lorraine Simmons, daughter of the late Gilbert and Louise Channell, was born Katherine Lorraine Channell on April 1, 1945 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mom passed away peacefully in the afternoon of January 7, 2017 surrounded by her children and close friends. Survivors include her sister, Valerie Falanga, her son, Lloyd Simmons (Jill-Anne), and her twin daughters, Debbie Gregory (Richard) and Cheryl Simmons (Michelle), all of Florida.

Lorraine attended Mount Saint Joseph Academy in Brighton, MA and graduated in 1962. Mom started down a lifelong path of nursing by attending and graduating from the Cambridge City Hospital School of Nursing in 1965. After graduation, she became a nurse at the Symmes Hospital in Brighton, MA. She married Lloyd Simmons, Sr. on September 17, 1966, and Dad moved the family to Florida in 1971. Mom then became a nurse at Suncoast Hospital, which became Largo Medical Center, and she also helped in Dr. Maxfield's office, retiring in 2015. Even after retirement, she continued to provide nursing advice and assistance to friends and neighbors. In all, she spent 51 years in the field of nursing.

Mom's husband, our father, passed in 1984. She was a parishioner at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church and rarely missed the 4pm Mass on Saturdays. The three most important things to our mom were her faith, her family, and her love of nursing. She could see the good in everything, and she was a mother to many others. A visitation honoring Lorraine will be held on Thursday, January 12th from 5pm - 7pm at Serenity Funeral Home, 13401 Indian Rocks Rd, Largo, FL 33774. A Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, January, 13th at 10am at St. Matthew's Catholic Church, 9111 90th Ave, Largo, FL 33777. Burial will follow at Serenity Gardens Memorial Park located next to the Funeral Home.