WILLIAM E. SIMMONS SR., 72

CORTLAND -- Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Hall Funeral Home, Warren, for William E. Simmons Sr., 72, of 7 Larry Lane, who died of respiratory failure Saturday in St. Joseph Health Center in Warren.
Mr. Simmons was born June 10, 1928, in Durbin, W.Va., a son of William M. and Mona E. Elza Simmons, and moved from Clarksburg, W.Va., to this area in 1953.
He retired in 1985 after 31 years at Republic/LTV Steel. He served in the Army during the Korean War and was a member of the American Legion Post in Cortland. He also was a member of Pleasant Valley Evangelical Church in Liberty and a former member of the Moose Lodge. He was foster parent to 19 children.
He leaves his wife, Mary R., whom he married Sept. 2, 1952; twin sons, William E. II and Willard M., both of Warren; two daughters, Cindy Blackshere of Cortland and Carolyn Krokoski of Champion; three brothers, Edward of Chattanooga, Tenn., Daniel in New Jersey and Isaac of San Antonio, Texas; five sisters, Martha Malone of Warren, Sharon Bunnell of Southington, Dolores Alstead and MaryLou Lane, both of Charleston, W.Va., and Patricia Smith of Fairmont, W.Va.; 16 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
A daughter, Mary Lucia Cherry; three brothers, Jim, Connard and Harry; and a sister, Nancy Brandon, are deceased.
Friends may call for one hour before the service at the funeral home. Contributions may be made to the church.
3/19/01