Leila Lee Simmons

My Grandma Leila Lee Simmons was born on July 28th 1915 in Pickens County and lived her entire life in and around the town of Easley, SC. She chose to stay in South Carolina after My Granddad Robert “Grady” Sutherland joined the Air Force. She raised their four children here, including my Dad. When I was just a kid I remember her little house at 302 Wilbur Street burning to the ground one night while she was out, and how we all gathered around waiting and wondering where she was and how she was going to deal with the loss of her home. A new house was built for her, one with an actual bathroom with running water and a tub inside, No more heating water on the stove and dumping it in the washtub in the kitchen for a bath. And a washing machine inside the house too, she loved her Fancy new house. Grandma was always there for you, there was always a plate of fried chicken on the table and if you went away hungry it was your own fault. I remember her working at “The Minute Diner” in Easley for some extra money, but mostly remember her doing healthcare taking care of older people in the community. She took care of her Mom who lived with her until her death in 1972. I also remember her Brother Lloyd living with her. I even lived with her for a time before I moved to NM. At Her Fancy little house she always made you feel at Home. Grandma had a hip replacement done, and complications from a blood clot after the surgery took her from us on March 18th 1995. She was buried at Robinson Memorial Gardens in Easley, South Carolina.

Her Mom “Julie” Julia Lee Durham was born June 30th 1895 and her Dad “Orr” Clarence Orr Simmons was born October 27th 1895, they were married in Pickens County, South Carolina on November 18th 1914 and were the parents of 10 children including my Grandma. They lived in between Pickens and Pumpkintown, South Carolina. “Orr” worked at the Lumber Yard in Pickens, Bivins Lumber Company and Grandma stayed home to raise their children. They had a Daughter Lucy who died at 12 days old back in December 1930, and a son Clarence who was killed in action in France in 1944. Orr died of Lung Cancer on December 28th 1950 and is buried in Praters Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in Pickens County, South Carolina. Grandma Simmons went to live with her daughter Leila Sutherland (my Grandma) after Orr died. I remember her as being a quiet woman, she wore her hair up in a bun and every night Grandma Sutherland would bring out a kitchen chair for her to sit in. She would take down Grandma Simmons hair and brush it out for her, This seemed to take hours, her hair was white and hung down to the floor across the back of the chair, it was beautiful and this was a nightly ritual they had. She was also diabetic so the bowl of applesauce and graham cracker snack at bedtime was also a nightly ritual for her. Great Grandma Simmons died on August 2nd 1972 at her daughter My Grandma Sutherlands home in Easley, SC. She is buried at Praters Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in Pickens County, SC next to her Husband Clarence Orr Simmons.