Charles Wesley Simmons

1948 - 2016

Charles Wesley Simmons, 67, passed away Tuesday, June 7, 2016, in Fort Worth after a long battle with breast cancer. Funeral: 11:30 a.m. Monday in Greenwood Chapel. Graveside: 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in DFW National Cemetery. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Greenwood Funeral Home. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to the John W. Nick Foundation, Inc. Chuck was born on Aug. 6, 1948, in Chattanooga, Tenn., to Wesley and Fritzi Gross Simmons. He attended East Ridge High School, graduating in 1966. In 1971 he earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Soon after graduation, Chuck joined the United States Air Force, where he served as a B-52 pilot in the 20th Bomb Squadron at Carswell Air Force Base. During this assignment, he met fellow airman Kathryn Love and they married on July 24, 1975. Chuck left the Air Force in 1979 after eight years of service. Several months later, he began a 25-year career flying for Delta Airlines, eventually retiring as a 757/767 captain in 2004. Chuck was preceded in death by his father in 1978. Survivors: Wife, Kathryn; daughters, Lainie Simmons of Fort Worth and Casey and her husband, Nathan Waters, of Kaiserslautern, Germany; mother, Fritzi Simmons of Chattanooga, Tenn.; brothers, Richard and his wife, Teresa, of Ringgold, Ga., Don of Atlanta, Ga.; and sister, Irene Roberson of Denver, Colo.