Irene Clifton Briles

Greensboro- Mrs. Irene Clifton Briles, 96, died September 3, 2013 at Friends Home Guilford. A celebration of her life will be at 2 PM, Thursday, September 5, at Hanes-Lineberry Sedgefield Chapel with interment to follow in Guilford Memorial Park. The family will receive friends from 1:00 to 1:45 PM prior to the service at the funeral home.

She was born in Patrick, VA to the late Mr. and Mrs. S. Lester and Lillie M. Martin Clifton. She was a homemaker who took great pride in providing a Christian home for her family. Her grandchildren will remember being lovingly spoiled and treated to candy when they visited but never more than “just one piece.” She loved the Lord and lived her faith in daily life with the church and her family as her focus. She will be remembered as a quiet woman who treated others with gentleness and kindness and even when disciplining her rambunctious grandchildren never raised her voice. She loved going to the mountains and always kept a flower garden. Mrs. Briles was a true southern, Christian lady. She was a charter member of Southside Baptist Church.

She married Philip F. Simmons who died in 1943 while in France serving in WWII. Her second husband, Austin Hughes Briles died in 1998. She is survived by her son, Doyle Simmons and wife Kathy of Greensboro; grandchildren, Clifton Simmons and wife Laura and Steven Simmons both of Greensboro; great grandchildren, Traci Simmons, Quentin Simmons, Stephanie Simmons, and Michelle Simmons; and several nieces and nephews.

The family would like to extend their gratitude to the staff of Friends Home Guilford (Cedars) for their kind and loving care shown to Mrs. Briles during her residency. Floral tributes are welcome or memorial contributions may be made to Southside Baptist Church, 1001 Greenhaven Drive, Greensboro, NC 27406 or to Friends Home Guilford, 925 Guilford College Road, Greensboro, NC 27410. On line condolences or floral tributes may be made at www.haneslineberry.com.