Ann Paton Hamilton Simmons

Ann was born in Ayr Scotland, a coastal town on the west coast of Scotland about five miles from Robert Burns' cottage. The family, all eight siblings, left Scotland when she was 11years old (1955) and settled in Dagenham England where her father worked at the Ford plant.

Her older sister, Peggy had settled in California, married with two small children. In 1960 Peggy invited Ann to come to live in California. So, at just seventeen Ann came to live in California where she met her Pen Pal Judy Panter, Peggy's neighbor.

Meanwhile Ann's, future husband, Mike, a U.S Navy sailor, was being transferred to Mare Island Shipyard to attend the Nuclear Power training center for six months in October of 1961. Mike contacted his brother Kerry to fix him up with a date. It just so happens that Kerry was dating Ann's pen pal Judy (her sister's neighbor).

Mike and Ann's first date, (a double date) was at Playland At the Beach, just down the street from the San Francisco Cliff House. They continued on some more double dates until New Year's Eve,1961. Mike drove Ann to a New Years party in his 1931 Model A.

It was at the party where they first kissed, and Mike knew right then and there that "This is the one for me". In April of 1962 Mike was transferred to the Nuclear Prototype training in Idaho for another six months.

On one of Mike's weekend trips to Hayward, he proposed to Ann. She said yes, but you need to write my Father and ask him as well. So after some inter Hamilton phone calls and discussion, Mike finally got a reply with her father's blessing.

They were married on July 27th, 1963, in Hayward CA. They Honeymooned in Tahao and continued a long drive across country to Charleston South Carolina where Mike was now stationed on his newly commissioned Fleet Ballistic Missel Submarine, The USS Andrew Jackson SSBN 619 was now home ported.

After four years, two children and a miscarriage, Mike and Ann decided that Navy life is not conducive to a good marriage and in June of 1967, Mike was honorably discharged and headed back to California.

In 1969 Ann and Mike moved to American Canyon, CA, where Mike got a job as an electrician at Mare Island Naval Shipyard and retired in 1994.

During the early 80's, Ann became a full-fledged U.S. citizen!

Ann is predeceased by her parents George and Anne, her brother Sonny and Sister Peggy. She is survived by her brothers George, Jim and Bill, sisters Irine and Jannette, her husband of 62 years Mike, her children Mark (Pam) Becky (Karl) Hansen, Andrew, Susan (Shawn) Teller, Grand daughter Kayla (Jeff) Scott and two great grandchildren, Riley-Shay Scott and Lainey Savanna Scott.

During the early 90's, Mike and Ann embarked on a life-changing adventure.

Mike was accepted into the Roman Catholic permanent Deacon formation program for the diocese of Santa Rosa, the first such class. After four years of meeting for one weekend a month, several retreats, Mike was ordained a Deacon on June 4th, 1995.

During his 3rd year of formation Mike was challenged to come up with a summer project for his deacon training. He and Ann wrote to all the known Catholics in American Canyon to come together and decide what they want to do in this newly formed city of American Canyon. They decided they wanted to have mass in American Canyon and from that came Holy family parish where you are sitting today. Ann was religious education teacher for kindergarten kids, a member of the choir and didn't take any guff from priests or bishops. Her mom's quote, "You've got a good Scottish tongue in your head, use it."