A newspaper reporter once wrote, “Peggy Simmons is the epitome of happiness, joy, and caring. She brings to education the magic of learning, which is her personal philosophy for every classroom.”She brought these same qualities to all parts of her life, from her childhood to her last years in Texas.
Born to Wayman C. and Gertrude S Lawrence on March 9, 1928, in Columbus Ohio, man Clarkson and Gertrude Smith Lawrence. She graduated from Sweet Briar College and received her M.A. from Ohio State University. In 1951 she married Paul Rudolph Bowers and lived the next six years in Germany where her first two children were born. During those years she traveled extensively throughout Europe, was active in the work being done in the refugee camps, and performed Special Services theatrical productions.
Returning to the States in 1957, her third child was born during a year at Harvard. The family then moved back to Ohio where her husband was a college administrator. Her last child was born in Painesville Ohio in 1963. During these years, she was an active community volunteer and a member of the Junior Service League. She began the Volunteer Service Bureau which became a model for other communities. In 1968 she began to teach Kindergarten at Lake Erie College, and in 1972 became the Founding Head of Phillips School. In the ten years, she served as Head of School, it grew to 440 students. She then accepted the post of Executive Vice President of the College, where she stayed until 1984. During her career in Ohio, she received many awards, such as Lake County Woman Educator of the year and Outstanding Administrator. She also served as a Trustee for the Andrews School, a private boarding school for girls in Willoughby, Ohio.
Accepting the position of Head of Trinity School in 1984, she moved to Midland, where she married Charles Edward Phillip Simmons on July 5, 1985. During her 13-year tenure at Trinity, the school expanded greatly with the addition of a High School. Her trademark was the joy she
experienced while working with students of every age. She served as an officer of the Independent Schools of the Southwest for six years, holding the office of President for the last two years before she retired in 1997.
Mrs. Simmons has served on numerous Midland community boards, such as The Midland/Odessa Symphony Board, The Museum of the Southwest, and Casa de Amigos. She and her late husband were both active members of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity, and since their retirement delighted in traveling and in their seven children and many grandchildren.
She is survived by daughters Carole Elizabeth Bugge, and Suzanne Lawrence Lego, stepchildren Andrea Lynn Simmons, Alexia Marie Simmons, and Damon Gerard Simmons.
Please send donations to The Margaret and Charles Simmons Endowed Scholarship of Trinity School, or of Midland College.
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