James Carl Simmons

James C. Simmons passed away on May 25th, 2024, surrounded by family. Jim was born in the family home in Kingwood, WV to James Hezekiah and Carroll Orr Simmons. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Mary Belle (Proudfoot), sons James E. (Andrea), Thomas (Michelle), Dale (Trista), Scott (Amy) and Gary (Deborah), and 12 grandchildren.

An aviation enthusiast almost from birth, Jim’s childhood interests centered on sports and flying model airplanes, and he once met Chuck Yeager while working in a bicycle shop. Jim graduated from Elkins High School and attended Davis & Elkins College before transferring to West Virginia University (Go Mountaineers!), where he graduated in 1961 with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. While in college, Jim married Mary Belle on May 29th, 1958. Graduation brought a job offer as a Payloads Design Engineer from The Boeing Company, and he soon found himself moving to Seattle with his wife and sons Jim and Tom.

Jim had a 36-year career with Boeing, working on multiple airplane programs where he specialized in payload systems including escape slides, head of state airplanes and cargo systems, where he became a worldwide expert in cargo handling systems on large commercial and cargo aircraft. He served on industry committees establishing standards for the cargo and freight carriage and was instrumental in the success of the 747 and 767 Freighter. He was known as a solid manager who knew and really cared about his team, but retained a solid technical grounding which was a feature of his leadership style. Jim traveled extensively, representing Boeing in more than a dozen countries over the years. He retired from Boeing in 1997.

Jim and Mary were active parents with their children, supporting them in their activities and often volunteering to support as coaches and assistants. The family enjoyed hiking and exploring Washington State, and periodically traveling to visit relatives in West Virginia. Jim introduced his sons to aviation through radio-controlled model airplanes, where lessons were learned in the building and flying of models (and the occasional hunt for the lost model…). Jim and Mary also took great interest in their grandchildren’s lives, supporting their education, activities, school events, sleepovers and engaging with each of them as much as possible.

Jim was also active in the community. When the call went out for referee volunteers for his sons’ youth soccer club, Jim answered the call and suddenly the basketball family rotated to soccer. Never one to do something halfway, Jim progressed through the refereeing ranks of youth soccer to the local men’s leagues, high school and college soccer, and became a match official in the North American Soccer League soon after the founding of the Seattle Sounders. Jim was on the officiating crew for many professional matches over the years, with a resume that included USA vs Canada in 1976 and Sounders vs Chelsea in 1977. He eventually became a referee evaluator for the NASL when he retired from refereeing.

Jim returned to his first love of aviation in the early 1980’s by earning his glider pilot’s license and began to fly recreationally. Jim co-owned a number of high-performance sailplanes over the years and, when tow pilots were in short supply, went back and got his powered pilots license and became a tow pilot for the club. A long-time board member of the Seattle Glider Council, Jim maintained a leadership role in the club in addition to becoming a highly accomplished and recognized pilot, with many club and national awards to his name.

When Jim and Mary chose to downsize and move into Quail Park, Jim quickly became a leader on the residents’ board and the construction liaison between the residents and the contractor when the residence was expanded. Jim and Mary took the time to really get to know many of the residents and staff and took a strong interest in everyone’s stories. Jim always found a way to engage with organizations. He did not look at them as a service to him, but rather as an opportunity to improve things for others.

Please join the family to remember with joy the life that Jim lived and the contributions he made in so many ways. He will be missed by all.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Jim’s name to the Museum of Flight at https://www.museumofflight.org/support/make-a-gift.