Donald William Simmons

Donald William Simmons, 84, of Missoula, passed away on Monday July 9, 2012, at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, after suffering a sudden heart attack.

Don was born on July 1, 1928, at his family's farm outside of Berwick, Ill. He was the youngest of four children born to Guy and Mamie Simmons. He grew up nearby on Union Hill, attending a one-room schoolhouse across Picayune Creek with his three sisters. He went to high school during World War II. Gas rationing meant there was no school bus to get the country students to the township high school, so Don worked in town to pay for his board so he could finish high school. Don majored in music at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. He worked summers on neighboring farms to help pay his tuition, but he couldn't have gone to college without the financial support of his sisters Ruth, Ila and Katie.

It was at Knox College that Don met Patricia Kimble when they were cast together in "The Desert Song." They were married on July 1, 1951 and had three children: Elizabeth in 1953, Kim (JK) in 1955 and David in 1959. After completing his service in the United States Army, Don began the work that defined his life: teaching music. He taught in public schools in Illinois and Michigan, served as choir director in churches ranging from American Baptist to Unitarian, and conducted community choruses and chamber chorales, all while working toward his doctoral degree by going to summer school for ten years. His academic areas were choral music, music teacher education and arts administration. After completing his doctorate at the University of Illinois, he joined the music faculty at The Ohio State University in 1963.

Don and Pat moved to Missoula with their youngest son David when Don was hired to Chair the Department of Music at the University of Montana in 1973. Soon after, Elizabeth and Kim came to visit, fell in love with Missoula, and moved back in to the family home. When Pat's mother, Ruth Kimble, was widowed, she joined the Simmons family in a three-generation home a few blocks from the campus where Pat and Don worked. All three children and Grandma Ruth attended the University, and all of the Simmons children graduated from UM. Don served as president of both the Montana Music Educators Association and Montana Choral Directors Association, was active on Accreditation Teams for the National Association of Schools of Music, and adjudicated state and regional music festivals. He retired as Associate Dean of the School of Fine Arts in 1993.

However, Don never really retired. Don continued to teach, offering his last Music Appreciation Course at the age of 82 through the Montana Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (MOLLI), and continued his lifelong tradition of community singing with caroling parties in the home he and Pat shared in the University District. His passion for fostering community through music was part of his larger passion for bringing people together to make the world a better place.

He served on the boards of many civic and arts organizations, including United Way of Missoula County, the Missoula Symphony Association, and Five Valleys Memorial Society. Together with Pat, Don served on the Friends of Flagship and Headwaters Dance Company boards. Don and Pat stood peace vigil on the Higgins Bridge during the war in Iraq, and volunteered on countless political campaigns for city, state and national office.

Don brought UM students and Missoula residents together in what has become an annual tradition: the Ice Cream Social. Whether cheering Grizzly athletes or the Osprey, supporting Forward Montana, or congratulating a student or colleague after a recital, Don took great joy in seeing young people doing well the things they loved.

A progressive confident we could all move forward together and have a great time doing it, Don believed absolutely in the right of all people to food, housing, healthcare, education and love. These values were at the heart of everything he did as a teacher, a community member and a family member, and his example inspired others to believe in their own abilities and in their power to change the world.

Don is survived by his best friend and wife of 61 years, Pat Simmons (Missoula); his daughter, Elizabeth Simmons-O'Neill, who teaches community-based courses at the University of Washington, her husband John O'Neill, and their children Emma and Liam (Seattle) and Zoe (Portland, Ore., formerly of Missoula); son, Kim (JK) Simmons, an actor who lives in Los Angeles with his wife Michelle Schumacher and their children Joe and Olivia; son, David Simmons, a musician, teacher and theater professional who lives with his wife Marilyn Rice in Missoula, and David's son Niko Simmons (Morris, Minn.).

Don's son-in-law and daughters-in-law love him like the father he became the moment he welcomed them into his family, and his grandchildren adore their "Grampy," and are following in his footsteps as musicians, citizens, and loving joyous people who learned from their "Grampy" that the world is a better place when we take care of each other, and see that lesson in everyone he touched.

Don was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Ruth, and is survived by his beloved sisters, Katie Jensen (Galesburg, Ill.) and Ila Mae Simmons (Roseville, Ill.); cousins from Virginia to California; his brother- and sister-in-law Dan and Reeva Kimble, and nieces and nephews Peter and Brenda Kimble, Chris and Pat Kimble, Kathleen Kimble and Bill Fleischman, Patsy Kimble Brunner and Bill Brunner, Tony and Laura Kimble, Kimble and Mickey Niland, Matthew Kimble and Mary Taylor, Evan and Lael Kimble, Sara Kimble and Lars Petersen, Karen Ferguson, Ken and Cindy Johnson, Greg and Connie Jensen, Ron (Weed) Jensen, Susan and Bill Dehority; and by the children and grandchildren of his nieces and nephews.

Don's understanding of family extended to countless people who were fed at his table, counseled and mentored by his affection and wisdom, and changed by his loving example.

A Celebration of Don Simmons' Life will be held on Sunday, Aug. 5 at 11 a.m. in the Music Recital Hall at the University of Montana. Don's family has established a music scholarship in his name. Donations may be made by check to The University of Montana Foundation, P.O. Box 7159, Missoula, MT 59807-7159, online at SupportUM.org, or by calling the Foundation at 800-443-2593. Please indicate that contributions be directed to the Don Simmons Memorial Music Education Scholarship.

Teller of jokes, host of parties, cooker of comfort food, friend to the lonely, radiater of joy, spreader of cheer, lifter of spirits and lover of life. Husband, father, brother, cousin, uncle, grandfather, friend, teacher, learner and hero, he taught us all, and we are better for the lesson. Thank you, Grampy/Dad/Don. We love you.

• obituary
• Residence: (1930 — Age: 1) Roseville, Warren, Illinois
• Residence: (1935 — Age: 6) Roseville, Warren, Illinois
• Residence: (1 Apr 1940 — Age: 10) Roseville, Warren, Illinois, United States
  • Updated from Ancestry Genealogy by SmartCopy: Jan 28 2015, 21:25:44 UTC