Jonelle "Jodi" Simmons March, 19, 1949 - January 6, 2019 Raleigh Jonelle "Jodi" Simmons, 69, passed away peacefully on Sunday, January 6, 2019. She was surrounded by her husband, son and his wife, and her three grandchildren. She's looked at clouds from both sides now. Jodi was born in Marshfield, WI, March 19, 1949, and spent her childhood in Kalamazoo, MI. She married Vernon Moore in 1972; they were married for ten years and had one son, David Moore, in 1976. She married Bill Simmons in 1983. Her three beloved grandchildren, Nala, Leo, and Sabina, were born in 2011, 2012, and 2018.
Jodi graduated from the University of Michigan in 1971, then taught high school French in Smithtown, NY. She returned to Ann Arbor and worked at the Institute of Social Research at the University of Michigan; moved to Arlington, MA, and worked at the computing center at Harvard University; moved to Huntington Woods, MI in 1978, worked at the computing center at Wayne State University; worked at Henry Ford Health Systems Information Systems from 1983 to 1999. She moved to Raleigh, NC, in 1997. She then took a great leap of faith.
Jodi began work on her Master of Divinity at Wake Forest University in 2000, graduating in 2003. She worked as a chaplain at Durham Regional Hospital from 2004 to 2005 and then for Duke Hospice from 2005 until the time of her death. She was certified as a CPE Supervisor by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education in 2014 and also worked as a chaplain for Durham Veteran's Hospital since 2017.
Jodi's energy was magnetic and abundant, her compassion endless, her kindness and grace ever-present. Her belief in the power of love and generosity was transformative for everyone who was fortunate enough to be touched by her spirit. As her granddaughter Nala noticed after her passing, the world feels a little lonelier without her.
Jodi's midlife career change created vitality in her life that remained until her death. Pastoral care became her passion, and caring for others' spiritual well-being her vocation. She strived to always "be there" for someone and was expert at allowing others to "tell their story."
Jodi is preceded in death by her father, Leo Dick; mother, E. Corinne Dick (Fries); husband Vernon Moore; mother-in-law Marian Simmons; and nephew Ross Eames.
She is survived by her husband, Bill; her son, David Moore, and his wife, Josephine, her three grandchildren, Nala, Leo, and Sabina, all of Cleveland Heights, OH; her sisters, Carolyn ("Scooty") Kellogg (Ken) of Bainbridge Island, WA; and Connie Eames (Ross) of Ruskin, FL; her brother, Ted Dick (Susan Spector) of Cleveland Heights, OH; and her sister from a different mister, Anne Duli (Ana Maldonado) of Cleveland Heights, OH; and 8 nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held at Brown Wynne Funeral Home, 1701 E. Millbrook Rd., Raleigh on Friday, January 11 from 2 pm to 8 PM, with a Remembrance Service at 6 PM. A funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 11401 Leesville Rd., Raleigh at 11 AM, Saturday, January 12. The family asks that any contributions in her name be made to Duke Home Care & Hospice.
