Geraldine "Jerrie" Simmons Jantz

Geraldine “Jerrie” Simmons Jantz

Jerrie, 94, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, entered eternal rest on September 6, 2022, in a local care facility.  She was born on June 23, 1928, to Willie E. and Charlotte “Lottie” Simmons in Beaumont, Texas. She loved to dance and never met a stranger.

She grew up in DeRidder, Louisiana, with her siblings, Claudine and Larry Simmons. She spent much of her childhood at her family’s hardware store, Simmons Bros. Hardware Store.

Jerrie graduated from DeRidder High School in 1946. While attending Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, she met her beloved husband, “Bobby.” They married on a snowy Louisiana day - January 23, 1948. Her pride and joy were her three daughters: Janis, Sandra, and Sharon “Lee Lee.”  

She was employed at Fort Polk for the Adjutant General and was a member of the Inspector General’s Team. She also taught Military Correspondence for many years. She retired in 1976, and her family moved to Katy, Texas, for ten years, and then later to Lake Charles, Louisiana.

In retirement, Jerrie enjoyed playing dominos and bingo, and making wreaths for her church’s annual craft fair. Together with Bob, she traveled all across the United States for his yearly U.S. Navy Reunions. She was a member of St. Luke Simpson United Methodist Church and celebrated Mardi Gras as a Twelfth Night Reveler of Lake Charles with her daughter.
  
Left to cherish her memory are many loved ones: her three daughters and their spouses Janis Heal and Charles “Bob” of Rowlett, Texas, Sandy Heft and Ronnie of Montgomery, Texas and Sharon “Lee Lee” Broussard and Tim of Lake Charles, Louisiana; one brother, Larry Simmons; her five grandchildren, Chris Heal (Mirta), Haley Mokry (Clint), Hunter  Heft (Kristen), Kanon Broussard (Katy) and Karlee Broussard; and eight great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Robert A. Jantz, her parents, Willie and Lottie Simmons, her sister, Claudine Nichols, and her granddaughter, Keri Heal.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, September 9, 2022, at Johnson Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Prien Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will begin Friday from 9:00 AM until the start of the service. The pallbearers will be her grandsons and sons-in-law.

The family wishes to express their sincere gratitude to Dr. Gerry Hebert, and to the staff at the Verandah, Grand Cove Nursing and Rehab Center, and Brighton Bridge Hospice for their compassionate care.