Leslie Black Simmons

Leslie "Boots" Simmons, 92, of Charlotte, passed away on July 2, 2024. Boots was born in Charlotte, NC, on February 1, 1932 to Emma Louise and Everett Augman Black, whose illnesses forced Boots, from the age of five, and her two younger siblings to grow up in the Alexander Home, the Presbyterian children's home in Charlotte, NC. Her mother nicknamed her after one of her favorite comic strips of the time, “Boots and Her Buddies”. Although she spoke little of her experience growing up in the Alexander home, it is believed the experience reinforced her love of reading and may have been a comfort. She would hide underneath her bed to read while the other children went outside to play. Many family members believe the experience made all three siblings a bit eccentric. Boots’ eccentricities? Fastidiously cleaning her home, passionate reader, and almost always being dressed to the nines. In Boots' adult life, she kept in contact with Miss Harriett White who came to the Alexander Home when Boots was 14 to run the home. As soon as Miss White learned of Boots’ desire to change her name, she took Boots to the courthouse to change her birth name from Louise Leslie to Leslie Louise.

Boots finished high school a year early although she considered herself a graduate of the class of 1950 at Harding High School, Charlotte, NC. During high school, she was a student assistant in the library and a member of the NC High School Library Association, which sponsored the literary contest in which Boots, in 11th grade, won first place from a poem she wrote, "Charlotte", which she patterned after Carl Sandburg's poem, "Chicago". She met her future husband, Tommy, in high school. Her love of reading may be why she was smitten with Tommy. Her favorite childhood book was "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and while Tommy not only shared the character's name, he also played hooky from school to go fishing (and naming her daughter after Tom Sawyer’s girlfriend). Not only did she find Tommy handsome, she shared in his strong work ethic, frugal spending habits, planning for the future, valuing traditions, providing for family. They both had a distaste for vices and living a structured, ethical and moral life. They both also shared a wonderful sense of humor.

Since Boots was a straight-A student, the Presbyterian church agreed to pay, at the urging and insistence of Miss White, half of Boot's college education. She chose teaching as a career from the three career paths allowed of most women at that time. Her first two years were at Peace College, Raleigh, NC, where she was on the honor roll and a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the national junior college honor society and Sigma Pi Alpha, the national modern language honor society. She graduated as the top honor graduate in 1951.

In 1954, Boots earned her BS degree in Education from Queens College, Charlotte, NC, in 1954. During this time, she married Tom and had their first child, Phil. Boots then began working in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School system as a 4th grade teacher. Together, she and her friend Nancy Rogers-Zegarra, earned a Master of Arts degree in Education in 1978 and a degree as a “Specialist in Reading” in 1980 from Appalachian State University. Boots then taught the newly formed elementary school reading lab at her school, which she loved since reading was her passion and she was able to learn how to use a computer. She earned “Teacher of the Year” at her school in 1982. She gained membership into the President's Club and Honors for Services of The International Reading Association (IRA) in 1988. She was active in the Greater Charlotte IRA from 1982 to 1987 driving many Saturdays to IRA meetings in Winston Salem or Raleigh as an Area Director. Boots' career lasted 42 years, with a brief few years’ break while raising her next two children, Becky and Paul.

She loved traveling with Tommy, her children, and her friends (the Carters, the Campbells, the Alexanders, the Lakes, Helen Howard and more) during summer vacations to various places in the US. After retiring in 1994, she and Tom finished traveling to all fifty state capitals and visited the UK, where she was able to visit the moors of The Bronte Sister's books and visit the birthplace and museum of John Knox, the founder of the Presbyterian Church. They had an adventurous 2-week trip to Hong Kong and she had another fun trip to the UK with her sister, Lucille, daughter, Becky, and future daughter-in-law, Lisa. She started joining Tommy on his yearly fishing trip with friends and the Simmons and Andrew’s relatives to Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. While he fished, she enjoyed reading, attending to all the visitors that came and went, and shopping all the tourist shops on the island.

She enjoyed family events and the holiday cook-outs with friends and family at the Lake Norman house she and Tommy shared with his sister, Rosie, and her husband, Jim. Since she never learned to swim, Tommy only convinced her to take a ride in his boat a handful of times over the years. She did not enjoy it, especially since it "messed up her hair". She would have rather shopped on Saturdays. She did this for many years with many friends, in particular, Sallye Campbell and Louise Carter. On several occasions, when her two youngest children were preteens, she would drive them to Atlanta and drop them at Six Flags Over Atlanta with their cousins, Jan and Leslie, so she could go shopping with her sister, Lucille. Boots was a self-professed shopaholic; buying was not the objective, it was the camaraderie she treasured. She was also a self-professed chocoholic making birthday and Christmas gifts for her easy choices.

She actively kept in touch with the many friends she gathered along her life journey, such as high school sweethearts Janice and Boog (Maddry Myers) Godfrey. In retirement, they rekindled a friendship from their 20s living in an apartment next to Alberta, "Bert", and Murray Craven. It was important to her to send friends and family birthday cards and gifts. Playing card games and dominos was another fun way to stay in touch. She loved playing Bridge with friends. Over the years, she hosted or attended regular "Bridge nights" for couples and women-only. Boots was an avid Bridge player, even winning games in her late 80s as her vascular dementia progressed. She could win a game but needed reminding of the trump suit every round. These games, along with dominos and the card game Hand & Foot, were a source of much fun during Ocracoke vacations.

She was transgenerational, able to communicate with and enjoy people much younger. She kept up with current events, trends, musicians and movie stars through all her reading and sometimes from the television. She was a strong pacifist and women’s rights advocate. She strived to be fair to all. Although she did not realize her childhood dream of being a librarian, and being single and living with only cats, her children believe that she was happy with how her life turned out. It was obvious she loved having a family, possibly because she grew up with no parents, as she cherished traditions, especially Christmas. Like her faith, she used few words to express her love of God and her family. Her love of her children was strongly felt by them and her strength in her faith she lived. She believed and tried to teach her children to always see the best in others and yourself, not judge others, and never speak ill of others. She led the Women's Circle meeting at Christ Presbyterian Church after her retirement and she silently prayed The Lord's Prayer at bedtime.

Boots is survived by her children, Thomas Philip Simmons Jr, Rebecca Lee Simmons and Everett Paul Simmons; three grandchildren, Thomas Philip Simmons III, William Marshall Simmons and Madeline Lee Simmons; two great-grandchildren, Naomi Ryann Ploesch-Simmons and Bruce Kai Fujita-Simmons; two sister-in-laws, Rose Emma Simmons and Ivy Black. She was preceded in death by her husband of 68 years, Thomas Philip Simmons, her sister, Lucille Black Holsclaw who always called her Bootsie, her husband Clyde Holsclaw, her brother Everett Augman Black Jr, and Rosie's husband, James N. Andrews.

Funeral services will be held 2:00pm Saturday, August 3, 2024 at Forest Lawn West, 4601 Freedom Drive, Charlotte, with a reception following the service. Visitation starts at 1pm. Memorial contributions may be made in her memory to The International Literacy Association, The Alzheimer's Association or Christ Presbyterian Church, 2461 Arty Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28208.