He is survived by his wife, Helen Morris Simmons, his daughter, Miriam Simmons Willis of Fairhope, AL and his grandchildren, Miriam Worthington Willis and Jane Perry Willis, as well as his siter, Bess Simmons Owen (Bill); his stepchildren, Elizabeth Arnold Woods (Mike), Dan Hogan Arnold (Jenkie), and the Seale girls, Helen Harmon (Chris), Holley Camp, and Catherine Boyd (Philip), their children, and his niece and nephew.
Born August 2, 1939, Jim was a member of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. He attended Mountain Brook Elementary School and The Webb School in Bell Buckle, TN. He was a graduate of Shades Valley High School, at the old school location, and was a member of Alpha Sigma Delta fraternity. Jim was a graduate of Auburn University, where he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. He was well known for all things Auburn, especially the football team and their marching band. He held Auburn season football tickets for many years, and he often said “football season” was his favorite season of the year.
In his early years post-college, Jim worked for The First National Bank of Birmingham and the United States Steel Corporation. After relocating to his beloved Atlanta, Georgia, he was the Credit Manager with Kaiser Aluminum Chemical Corporation for 34 years. During his tenure with Kaiser Aluminum, he attended the Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management at Stanford University.
Jim was a lover of Lake Lanier, where he lived for many years and spent many hours on his boat, swimming and feeding the ducks. He also spent several weeks a year at the beach near Destin, Florida which was always a fun family gathering. He spent many hours on various golf courses, enjoying the sport. He was a long-time member of Birmingham Country Club. He was known to have great knowledge on many subjects, and even attended Brenau University Adult Lifetime Learning Studies. Upon returning to Birmingham, he became a member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
The family would like to thank Glenn Morgan for his help and companionship with Jim during the past year.
A private family memorial service will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family request that memorials be made to the St. Luke’s Foundation, 3736 Montrose Road, Mountain Brook, AL 35213 or to a charity of your choice.
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