Loving wife to Raymond, Mother of Five, Everyone’s Oma, and Cherished Friend to many.
Ernestine (Oma) Simmons, known around Peachtree City as “Oma”, who celebrated life at the weekly family dinner on Sunday night and talked politics to flowers, died on Wednesday, May 10, 2017 after suffering a stroke. She was 87 years old.
Ernestine was born in Munich, Germany in 1929 and grew up fast during the bombing of her homeland during World War II. She caught the eye of a young American Army private named Raymond. They fell in love and she became his “war bride.” As Raymond went off and made a thirty year career in the Army, young Ernestine immigrated to a new country, learning the language and the culture.
She was mother to five: Dieter William, of Ocala, Florida, Mitchell Cherry, of Walnut Cove, North Carolina, Rose Ann, of Winston Salem, North Carolina, Raymond, who died at birth, and the youngest, Ralph Raymond, of Senoia, Georgia. She was Oma to six grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Ernestine mastered the art of making Southern banana pudding and pinto beans with ham hocks, (Raymond’s favorite), all the while keeping tabs on the wild bunch and a cat or two. She also began a career in retail, working as many hours as possible to help make ends meet.
Ernestine was the family glue, as a career in the Army meant moving just about every year. And as Raymond went to war, she held the fort down on the home front. When Raymond retired, she became the world’s best supporter during all those July 4thPeachtree road races and countless competitions.
Ernestine and Raymond moved to Peachtree City, Georgia about twenty-one years ago. Ernestine led a busy life, making friends at the local garage sales and just anywhere she went. Her German heritage led people to call her “OMA,” which is an esteemed title of honor for a grandmother. Oma loved deeply and passionately. As her husband Raymond took the long journey called Alzheimer’s, Ernestine provided care to him at home until he succumbed eight years ago in May. Even as father time slowed her down, she was still a ball of fire, defining the term focused determination. Everyone who was blessed to know Ernestine “Oma” Simmons has a classic Oma story to tell.
Oma will be missed. Friends will be received from 10 – 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at Carl J. Mowell & Son Funeral Home, Peachtree City. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11 a.m., with Reverend Joe Stanley, and his wife Kim, officiating. Immediately following, interment will be at Westminster Memorial Gardens, Peachtree City, next to her life-long love, Raymond Noble Simmons.
Carl J Mowell & Son Funeral Home, Peachtree City- www.Mowellfuneralhome.com
