When Nancy was ten years old, she moved with her family to Atlanta, where they lived in the Georgian Terrace Hotel in Midtown. She and Kent shared her stories of those years in a StoryCorps Atlanta episode titled Growing Up As Atlanta’s Own “Eloise.” She graduated from Washington Seminary and attended the University of Georgia for a year before she began her career in retail and fashion. She worked at Davison’s department store through modeling and special events. She taught the Davison’s Seventeen Beauty workshops for over 15 years. In 1958, Nancy married Roy Simmons Jr. and they raised their children in suburban Atlanta. In 1984, Nancy became a travel agent and began a new career planning vacations for devoted clients and indulged her own love of travel, particularly cruises. In retirement, she enjoyed dear friends in a Bible study and weekly lunch and dinner outings. She hand-crafted thousands of cards to honor occasions for her friends and family.
She is survived by her children Kent (Laura) Simmons and Elizabeth Lee (Mark Capobianco) Simmons, grandchildren James "Tripp" (Hannah) Hurt, Vaille (Ray) Lawrence, Bryden Simmons, Luke Simmons, great-grandchildren RL Lawrence and Kaisley Lawrence, and sister Cindy Massey. She was predeceased by her parents and her husband.
Nancy had many dogs through the years and asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her honor to Canine Assistants (canineassistants.org.) A family graveside service will be held at Arlington Cemetery in Sandy Springs in August.
