Eleanor Simmons Kerns

Funeral services will be held at First United Methodist Church of Gadsden on January 11 at 3:00 p.m. for Eleanor Simmons Kerns, 94, who died on January 8, 2012. Officiating will be the Reverends Roger Thompson and Ken Casey. The family will receive friends in the church parlor beginning at 1:30 until the time of service. A private burial will follow at Forrest Cemetery with Collier-Butler Funeral Home directing.

Mrs. Kerns was a retired school teacher who served eight years at Etowah High School and seventeen years at what was Disque Junior high School. One of her greatest pleasures was the spontaneous and happy greetings from former students whom she encountered occasionally. Among her favorites from classes of long ago was former mayor Steve Means, who always embraced her with a big bear hug on Sunday mornings at church.

She was a member of the Gadsden Education Association, the A.E.A., and the N.E.A. For a time she served on the Gadsden Teachers' Professional Rights and Responsibilities Committee. She was the oldest member and past president of the Alpha Iota Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society, an international honorary organization of women educators. She was a member of Daughters of the American Revolution.

Until her health prevented it, she was an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Gadsden and belonged to the United Methodist Women and the Wesley Fellowship Sunday School Class. She was a long-time devoted member of the Administrative Board and was church historian for more than 30 years. She planned and named Fellowship Hall and collected the historical materials for it.

The daughter of the late John M. and Ethel G. Simmons, Mrs. Kerns was preceded in death by her husband, Wayne L. Kerns, by a brother, John Mack Simmons, and a sister, Maurine S. Hooks. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Margaret and Michael Weaver of Gadsden, a granddaughter, Jill Bartilomo of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, a grandson, Scott Weaver of Portland, Oregon, one sister, Elizabeth S. Howard of Fort Payne, and a number of nieces and nephews.

Mrs. Kerns loved her family, her church, and her friends. She devoted many years of her life in providing loving and tender care for her mother and then her husband. She was a very gentle, kind, and caring person.

The family would like to express a special thank you to Nettie Hooks, Kesia Marrie, Hillorey Hutchinson, Joyce Turner, and Lana Garcia for your devotion and loving care. Also, we will always be grateful to the management and staff at Meadowood Retirement Village, the wonderful aides provided by Comfort Keepers, and Amedisys Hospice Services.

Pall bearers will be Michael Weaver, Oliver Doyle Wright, Kenneth Hooks, Jr., John Simmons, Steve Means, and Frank Kellett. The honorary pallbearer is Dr. Arthur Ennis.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First United Methodist Church building fund the church history publication fund, or to a favorite charity.