Louise Hulda Jones Simmons

Our beloved mother, Louise Hulda Jones Simmons crossed through the veil of death at her home in Willard, Utah on November 16, 2020 due to complications of old age; she was 89. Born on October 8, 1931 in Los Angeles, California she was the daughter of Alonzo Coleman Jones and Margaret Lucille Nordgren. She is preceded in death by her parents and her sister Marlene, a granddaughter, April, as well as her husband, Don Arthur Simmons. She is survived by her brother, Legrand Jones, and her six children; Steven Simmons (Linda), Linda Wiedmeier (Randy), Janet Stapley (Dennis), Shirley Kauffman (Stan), Gary Simmons (Cossette), and Mark Simmons (Chandra). She is also survived by a growing posterity of 29 grandchildren, 79 great grandchildren (with 2 more currently on the way), and one great, great grandson. Louise’s family and posterity meant everything to her. She often said that the whole reason she wanted to continue to live after the passing of her husband, Don, was to enjoy seeing her family grow.

Louise was born during the early years of the Great Depression when times were lean. Multigenerational families living together, hand-me-down clothes, patching up the holes in the soles of shoes with cardboard, growing their own food in gardens, etc. was the atmosphere of Louise’s early life. Thus, industry and thriftiness were part of her default system, which she built upon as she married and started a family of her own. Although she learned and modeled all the necessary homemaking skills of cooking, canning, cleaning, and sewing for her children to follow, she preferred the outdoors with its gardening and bird watching. Two indoor activities she thoroughly enjoyed were family history and puzzles. She attributed her love for putting together or solving the missing pieces in family history to her love of reading Nancy Drew mystery books as a young girl.

In her teens, Louise babysat a lot. She would spend her money on clothes and horseback riding. In school she liked to play volleyball and jump hurdles in track. She remembers the shortage of food during World War II and eating “hamburger” made with horse meat every day for lunch.

Although religion was not an emphasis in her home while growing up, Louise’s mother encouraged her to pray and attend church with her friends or grandparents. Occasionally, her two grandmothers would have her attend their congregations: Seventh Day Adventist or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a young girl, she sang in Christian church choirs. On summer vacations she would spend a week or two at religious mountain camps. This is where Louise says she learned to love solitude, nature, and all that God has created for us to enjoy. It is where she gained a faith and awareness that God knows us and cares for us. At the age of 16 and 17 respectively, she and her brother, LeGrand, sat in the home of Wallace and Willmirth Simmons on Sunday evenings and were taught the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Louise had prayed for years that she would be able to marry a man who did not drink alcohol. When she learned about the Word of Wisdom, she felt her prayers had been answered. She was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on December 4, 1948.

Louise married Don Arthur Simmons, the son of Wallace and Willmirth, on May 7, 1949 in Granite, Utah. Although Louise was raised in the big city of Los Angeles, she learned to use her fortitude to adjust to her new farm lifestyle; that of raising chickens, pigs, sheep and a milk cow, as well as making everything from scratch.

For eleven years Louise’s fledging testimony was nurtured by friends and family in Granite. These years prepared her for the many opportunities she would have to serve in the Church in the years to come. During these years in Granite she gave birth to five of her six children. In 1960, seeking new opportunities to learn and grow, Don and Louise moved their young family to a ranch just outside of Thompson Falls, Montana. Shortly after arriving at their new home Don was called to serve as the Branch President for the Thompson Falls Branch of the Church. The next three years were full of many stretching, faith promoting, and memorable experiences for the family. They worked closely with the missionaries in helping to teach and fellowship others. They saw many individuals return to church attendance and qualify for the blessings of the temple. In 1963 her third son and last child, Mark, was born, completing Don and Louise’s family.

Despite feeling rich in memories and blessings, ranching and working at the sawmill did not prove to be financially sustainable for the family. Louise also needed an operation, so the family returned to Utah in early 1964. But the allure of western Montana beckoned again, and once recovered from her operation, they moved back to Montana in June of 1964. This time they settled in the beautiful Flathead Valley. Kalispell and the surrounding area became their stomping grounds for raising their family for the next twenty-seven years, 1964-1991. Don was a trained brick mason and was self-employed the majority of their married life. Louise learned to work right alongside him on his building projects. She did the bookkeeping for his business, ran construction errands, and was even a hod tender for his masonry when needed. Together they built several of the homes the family lived in.

After all their children had grown, married, and left Montana for their own life adventures, Don and Louise desired to be closer to family and put their Wild Haven Ranch up for sale. In 1991 they moved to Cache Valley and settled in the last home they built together in Providence, Utah, where they resided from 1991 to 2009. After Don’s death in 2008 Louise preferred living with children to living alone. She took turns living with several of her children before finally settling down with her daughter, Janet. They have lived in Willard, Utah since 2013.

Louise and Don loved each other and their family. They loved serving in the Logan Temple together for eight years. When asked what she considered to be her greatest accomplishments in life, she said it was her posterity and staying true to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. In the twelve years she survived her husband she was delighted to see her posterity grow. Keeping her memory active was important to Louise so one way she chose to do this was by staying in bed each morning until she had gone through, in her mind, the name of each family member. If she got stuck with remembering a particular name, she would get out her little book and look it up. She also sent individual birthday cards to family members every year until it became hard for her to write legibly. Although her “smart” phone “drove her to drink” (a phrase she used for anything that drove her crazy), she loved being able to send and receive text messages, and scroll through Instagram posts, Marco Polo videos, and individual family photo feeds she was invited to. So, although Louise was born before television, penicillin, polio shots, contact lenses, radar, credit cards, ballpoint pens, pantyhose, and most electric appliances, she finished her life being able to “attend” important family events, like baby blessings and baptisms, via Zoom! She loved being able to stay connected to her family.

Louise’s life story concludes with her personal testimony to all her loved ones, she said;
“I know God lives. He hears and answers our prayers. He cares about each and every one of us. He knows our heart and will bless us as we strive to live worthy to return to Him. I’m grateful for good Christian grandparents and a mother who taught me to pray. My prayers have been answered from an early age. Especially, as I prayed for a companion and home where there would be no drinking. It might seem like a simple thing, but I had seen the evil of drink, so it was a big thing to me. Today, I guess it would be drugs, but the point is the Word of Wisdom is a major factor in finding happiness as well as good health. Never settle for less than what the gospel can give, beginning first of all with a temple marriage. Always be worthy of having a temple recommend. As the years pass by, and I am no longer around, I would hope you will remember me as one who loved the Lord and my Family. I’ve tried to give back to the Church at least a portion of what the Church has given to me. I’ll always be indebted to the Lord. Remember, it is all about the family. Be there for each other, have patience and understanding of the imperfections each of us have. Always look for the good and be willing to forgive and forget.”

Graveside services will be on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at 1:00 pm. In the Millville Cemetery.