Margaret Thomas Simmons

Known throughout her life for her faint Southern accent, Margaret Thomas Simmons of San Diego, California was born on May 13th, 1924, in Durham, North Carolina to a dairy farmer, Herbert Clark and his wife Elizabeth. Margaret was the middle child, having an older sister and a younger brother. Her father was a good dairyman, and the family soon moved to a larger farm in Sanford, North Carolina where Margaret spent most of her childhood.

Margaret showed musical talent and studied the violin. Her music instructor journeyed all the way to New York to purchase her a good instrument. She played in the school symphony orchestra while attending the Women’s College University of North Carolina. It was just after World War Two when Margaret met her husband-to-be, Don, at a USO dance. Don was attending Duke University nearby at the expense of the United States Navy to prepare him to be an officer. Don soon was coming out to the farm to visit on the weekends.

It wasn’t long before Margaret married Don and became a Navy wife. Don was transferred so many times in the first year of marriage Margaret barely had time to unpack. Many life-long friendships were born while attending the Navy wife support groups and learning to drink black coffee. Their children, William, Robert and David were born in a straight line across the country—Rhode Island, New Mexico and California. When her husband’s 20-year Naval career ended Margaret and her family settled in San Diego, California. In 1962 after outgrowing their first home, the family settled into the house where Margaret would live for the next 63 years.

Margaret loved her family and wanted her children to know their grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. Year after year she would drive from San Diego across the country with her three boys to Sanford, North Carolina for visits at her parents’ dairy farm. She always made stops along the way to visit other family members allowing her three sons to share “mad adventures” with cousins and uncles that they would remember all of their lives. Margaret’s trips became the glue holding the family tree together.

Margaret never remarried after her husband passed away in 1989. Her sons William (Bill) and Robert (Bob) loved her and bought homes close by. In order to better care for his mother, Bob bought the house next door to Margaret’s. In recent years, Bob connected the houses together for better access. It was Margaret’s wish to live out her life in her own home and not be in an assisted living facility.

Margaret passed away peacefully at home on Saturday June 21st, 2025, at the age of one hundred and one.

“You’re the one who we call when the cat runs away,

The one who makes holidays new.

You’re the one who makes sense out of every day.

What would we ever do without a mother like you?”

~R. Simmons