Julie McDonnold Simmons passed away peacefully on September 3, 2026, in Bryan, Texas. Our beloved Julie Haydon or Miss Julie, as she was known in childhood, was born to Dorothy Mae Dodd and Haydon W. McDonnold on September 29, 1940, in Houston, Texas. She had one older brother, Hugh Dodd McDonnold.They spent their childhood in a house filled with music and art on South MacGregor Way in Houston,Texas, often visiting relatives in Orange, Texas, or at the family bay house. She and Hugh attended San Jacinto High School, where she was the Lieutenant on the Golden Gauchos drill team. Julie made lifelong friends at San Jacinto High School and graduated in 1958.
After one semester at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, she returned to Houston to marry her sweetheart, Dick Bedford Simmons, on May 30,1959, shortly after he graduated from Texas A&M University. They promptly followed his army assignments, career, and higher education to the East Coast, where they welcomed sons Dick Bedford Jr. in 1960 and Hugh Duncan in 1962. The beginning of 1966, brought unexpected sorrow when Julie lost both of her parents within three months. However, daughter Elizabeth Haydon was welcomed with shock and joy when she arrived two months early in October 1966, completing their family of five.
The Simmons family moved to College Station in 1970, where Julie formed more lasting friendships and raised her children while completing her teaching degree at Texas A&M University, where Dick was a tenured professor. Julie’s love of children shone through her work as a kindergarten teacher, and in her activities with her own children, their cousins, friends, neighbors and eventually grandchildren. She filled the houses on Lawyer, Deacon, and S. Rosemary with fond memories of get-togethers, good food, and swimming parties. Traveling to numerous countries and continents with Dick was another passion she treasured throughout her life.
When Hugh Duncan welcomed his daughters in 1995 (Anastasia Lorraine) and 1997 (Samantha Beatrix), becoming a grandmother brought Julie and her family pure bliss. Julie loved to share her lifelong tradition of beach trips to Galveston with them, spending many Christmases and summers vacationing there.
Julie loved to start each day with a cup of coffee and her Jesus Calling daily devotional, curled up on the sofa before anyone was awake. It was her quiet time to prepare for the day. A dear friend had given her the book when her beloved second son Hugh Duncan, passed away in 2013. That devotional and her steadfast faith would also carry her through the loss of her cherished husband, Dick, after 66 happy years of marriage.
Julie had a favorite bible verse that she frequently shared with her daughter and granddaughters: ”This is the day which the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it”(Psalm118:24). We take comfort in knowing Julie is rejoicing in heaven today, reunited with her husband Dick Bedford, their son Hugh Duncan, and many other loved ones who have gone before.
Julie is survived by her son Dick Bedford Jr. and his wife Beth; her daughter Elizabeth Haydon; her granddaughter Anastasia Lorraine; and her granddaughter Samantha Beatrix and her husband Steve Anthony Mena, brothers and sisters in-law, and many loving nieces and nephews.
A visitation for Julie will be held on Tuesday, September 15, 2026 from 5PM-7PM at Memorial Funeral Chapel 2901 Texas Ave. S College Station, Tx. 77845. Funeral Service will be held on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 11AM at the A&M United Methodist Church 417 University Dr. College Station, Tx. 77840 with a reception to follow prior to interment at College Station City Cemetery.
