Allen Howell Simmons
1952 - 2025
Share Allen Howell Simmons's obituary with others.
Invite friends and family to read the obituary and add memories.
Stay updated
We'll notify you when service details or new memories are added.
You're now following this obituary
We'll email you when there are updates.
Please select what you would like included for printing:
Allen Howell Simmons Jr., Longtime Minister of Music, Dies at 73
Weatherford, Texas — Allen Howell Simmons Jr., who served as Minister of Music at First Baptist Church of Weatherford for four decades, died on December 2, 2025 following a hard battle with Lewy Body Dementia. He was 73.
A devoted husband, father, grandfather, and minister, Howell believed that music was both a calling and a service—an offering that helped people draw closer to God. For more than 50 years, his voice and leadership formed the steady soundtrack of worship for countless congregants.
Born May 20, 1952, in Birmingham, Alabama, to Allen and Joyce Simmons, he grew up in a home grounded in faith and love. He began his life's work in church music early. At 17, he accepted a position as music assistant at Hunter Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama discovering not only his talent but also the calling that would define his life.
After graduating from Ensley High School in 1970, he earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Samford University in 1974, followed by a Master of Church Music degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas in 1976.
During his seminary years, Howell met Ila Stages through a series of family introductions. Ila, then a student at Baylor University, had been invited to Highland Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas where Howell was serving and where the Pastor was her cousin Bill Millican, to sing and share about a mission trip to Malaysia. Her cousins suspected she and the young minister of music might be a good match. They were right. Howell and Ila became engaged the following February and were married on August 14, 1976, beginning a partnership that remained strong for nearly 50 years.
Howell's early ministry took the couple to Southside Baptist Church in Dothan, Alabama, where he continued his work as a Minister of Music and Youth. Their first son, Ryan, was born there in 1980. Two months later, the young family was called to serve as Minister of Music at University Baptist in Abilene, Texas, where they met Pastor Steve Lyon. It was the beginning of a fateful friendship. When the Lyons were called to serve as Pastor at First Baptist Church in Weatherford, Texas two years later, Steve said he would come with one condition - that he bring his minister of music.
So, in 1982, Howell and Ila began their 40-year tenure at First Baptist Church Weatherford—an era marked by musical excellence. Unknown at the time, but their second son, Riley, was going to make an appearance early next year. The Simmons family remained happily in Weatherford, building lifelong friendships that spanned generations and continue to this day.
Howell's leadership encompassed adult choirs, youth choirs, senior adult choirs, handbell choirs, seasonal productions, and countless services where he led with both precision and care; ordinary Sundays made extraordinary by song. For many, his ministry framed life's most meaningful moments—weddings and funerals, baptisms and holidays.
Beyond the platform, he was known for his humility, gentle humor, and the quiet way he encouraged others to discover their own gifts. His ministry was never about performance, but about people—about forming a community that worshiped not only with voices but with hearts.
Howell retired after more than five decades in ministry, leaving a legacy woven into the identity of First Baptist Weatherford and into the lives of those he served.
He is survived by his wife, Ila Simmons; his sons, Ryan of Nashville, Tennessee and Riley and daughter-in-law Claire of Irving, Texas; and three grandchildren, Annie, Lucy, and Will, who were the joy of his later years.
In a life defined by devotion—first to God, then to the family he loved, and to the congregations he faithfully served—Howell Simmons leaves behind a chorus of lives shaped by his presence, his ministry, and his music.
A celebration of Howell's life will be held on January 17, 2026 at First Baptist Church 222 W Church Street, Weatherford, Texas at 1:00 pm. There will be a reception in the gym following the service. To honor Howell's memory and his lifelong love of the church, the family welcomes donations to FBC Weatherford 222 W Church Street Weatherford, TX 76086 https://www.fbcwtx.org/give
Weatherford, Texas — Allen Howell Simmons Jr., who served as Minister of Music at First Baptist Church of Weatherford for four decades, died on December 2, 2025 following a hard battle with Lewy Body Dementia. He was 73.
A devoted husband, father, grandfather, and minister, Howell believed that music was both a calling and a service—an offering that helped people draw closer to God. For more than 50 years, his voice and leadership formed the steady soundtrack of worship for countless congregants.
Born May 20, 1952, in Birmingham, Alabama, to Allen and Joyce Simmons, he grew up in a home grounded in faith and love. He began his life's work in church music early. At 17, he accepted a position as music assistant at Hunter Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama discovering not only his talent but also the calling that would define his life.
After graduating from Ensley High School in 1970, he earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Samford University in 1974, followed by a Master of Church Music degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas in 1976.
During his seminary years, Howell met Ila Stages through a series of family introductions. Ila, then a student at Baylor University, had been invited to Highland Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas where Howell was serving and where the Pastor was her cousin Bill Millican, to sing and share about a mission trip to Malaysia. Her cousins suspected she and the young minister of music might be a good match. They were right. Howell and Ila became engaged the following February and were married on August 14, 1976, beginning a partnership that remained strong for nearly 50 years.
Howell's early ministry took the couple to Southside Baptist Church in Dothan, Alabama, where he continued his work as a Minister of Music and Youth. Their first son, Ryan, was born there in 1980. Two months later, the young family was called to serve as Minister of Music at University Baptist in Abilene, Texas, where they met Pastor Steve Lyon. It was the beginning of a fateful friendship. When the Lyons were called to serve as Pastor at First Baptist Church in Weatherford, Texas two years later, Steve said he would come with one condition - that he bring his minister of music.
So, in 1982, Howell and Ila began their 40-year tenure at First Baptist Church Weatherford—an era marked by musical excellence. Unknown at the time, but their second son, Riley, was going to make an appearance early next year. The Simmons family remained happily in Weatherford, building lifelong friendships that spanned generations and continue to this day.
Howell's leadership encompassed adult choirs, youth choirs, senior adult choirs, handbell choirs, seasonal productions, and countless services where he led with both precision and care; ordinary Sundays made extraordinary by song. For many, his ministry framed life's most meaningful moments—weddings and funerals, baptisms and holidays.
Beyond the platform, he was known for his humility, gentle humor, and the quiet way he encouraged others to discover their own gifts. His ministry was never about performance, but about people—about forming a community that worshiped not only with voices but with hearts.
Howell retired after more than five decades in ministry, leaving a legacy woven into the identity of First Baptist Weatherford and into the lives of those he served.
He is survived by his wife, Ila Simmons; his sons, Ryan of Nashville, Tennessee and Riley and daughter-in-law Claire of Irving, Texas; and three grandchildren, Annie, Lucy, and Will, who were the joy of his later years.
In a life defined by devotion—first to God, then to the family he loved, and to the congregations he faithfully served—Howell Simmons leaves behind a chorus of lives shaped by his presence, his ministry, and his music.
A celebration of Howell's life will be held on January 17, 2026 at First Baptist Church 222 W Church Street, Weatherford, Texas at 1:00 pm. There will be a reception in the gym following the service. To honor Howell's memory and his lifelong love of the church, the family welcomes donations to FBC Weatherford 222 W Church Street Weatherford, TX 76086 https://www.fbcwtx.org/give
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Allen Howell Simmons, please visit our flower store.
Allen Howell Simmons's Guestbook
Visits: 629
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors