Cleta Marie Simmons Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Cleta Marie (Whitaker) Simmons, aged 104, passed away Thursday, April 26, 2018, at Rector Nursing and Rehab. Cleta was born August 17, 1913, in Rector, Arkansas. She was the daughter of John Reese and Pearl Cleveland (Hardin) Whitaker. Cleta was married to Auda Lee Simmons on September 15, 1946, in Portageville, Missouri. The couple settled in the Blue Cane community southeast of Rector where they were engaged in farming until their retirement. Cleta was a longtime member of the Fifth and Pine Church of Christ, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Clay County Extension Homemakers Club, and the Rector Woman’s Club. She enjoyed gardening, cooking, and needlework. Cleta was preceded in death by her parents, Reese and Pearl Whitaker; her husband, Auda Simmons; her son, Ralph Edward Simmons; her daughter, Rose Marie (Simmons) Hayes; her infant son, Joseph Lee Simmons; one brother, Harlan Cecil Whitaker; and one sister, Earline Louise (Whitaker) Moore. She is survived by one son, Richard Simmons and his wife Shirley of Rector; daughter-in-law Rebecca Simmons of Rector; son-in-law Tommy Hayes of Franklin, Tennessee; nine grandchildren, Stephen and wife Jamie Simmons, David Simmons, Will Simmons, Bradley and wife Sarah Hayes, Ashley and husband Adam Birch, Jeremy and wife Leanne Hayes, Jody and wife Heather Simmons, John and wife Jen Simmons, and Cary Simmons; fourteen great-grandchildren, Sydney, Samuel, and Sophie Simmons, Anna Belle, Mason, and Landry Hayes, Grayson and Whitaker Birch, Jett and Beau Hayes, Ethan and Austin Simmons, and Connor and Vivienne Simmons. The family expresses heartfelt appreciation to Cleta’s longtime caregivers, Betty Lewis and Louise Faries, as well as a host of other caregivers and friends who positively touched Cleta’s life for so many years. Memorials may be made to Fifth and Pine Church of Christ, Woodland Heights Cemetery, the Children’s Home of Paragould, or the Rector Helping Hands Foundation. Pallbearers will be Stephen Simmons, David Simmons, Will Simmons, Bradley Hayes, Adam Birch, Jeremy Hayes, Jody Simmons, John Simmons, and Cary Simmons. Funeral Services will be held on Sunday April 29, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. at the Fifth and Pine Church of Christ. Visitation will be held from 12:15 p.m. until service time at the church. Burial will be held at Woodland Heights Cemetery in Rector.

Cleta Marie Simmons

August 17, 1913 - April 26, 2018