Anne Simmons, Ph.D., 59, passed away December 28, 2013, at UAB Hospital in Birmingham  after a long struggle with heart failure.

Dr. Simmons was born June 22, 1954, in Gadsden, the daughter of Billie Anne Bobo Simmons Price of Gadsden (deceased) and Clarence Simmons Jr. of Demopolis.

Dr. Simmons is survived by her son, Thomas Crutcher Dunnavant Jr. of San Francisco, Calif.; daughter, Aimee Dunnavant (Jake) Martin of Tempe, Ariz.; brother, Dr. John Simmons of Demopolis; sisters, Mary (John) Ryle of Gadsden, Susie (Mark) Dowdy of Atlanta, and Caroline (Derek) Boulware of Daphne; grandchild, Eleanor Martin; and four nieces. She also leaves behind numerous other loving relatives and friends.

“Dr. Anne” attended Gadsden High School and St. Paul’s School for Girls in Maryland. She earned her bachelors degree from the University of Alabama in 1982, followed by her master’s degree in 1985 and her Ph.D. in aging and deviance, sociology, criminology and gerontology in 1999. The perseverance she showed pursuing her education while teaching and raising a family was an inspiration to many of her students.

She was a lifelong champion of education and the arts. She taught at the college level for more than 20 years, including time at the University of Alabama, Shelton State, Enterprise Junior College and Morris College. She brought the same passion to her students and her field that she brought to ballroom dancing, costuming children’s theaters, watercolor painting, and pen and ink studies. She also loved gardening and roses. Her path through this world remains, planted as rose bushes in the gardens of the places she lived and at the homes of those she loved.

A memorial and celebration of her life will be held Saturday, April 12, 2014, at 1 p.m. at Jefferson Cemetery with the Rev. J.D. Barnes officiating. Arrangements will be provided by Kirk Funeral Homes Demopolis Chapel.