Fred J.Simmons,age 77, of Hingham, Boston and Duxbury, died at South Shore Hospital on January 12, 2015 surrounded by his family. He had lived with Parkinson’s disease for many years, and fought bravely against it. Born in Bridgeport, CT July 3, 1937, he was the son of the late Fred Joseph Simmons and Frances Elizabeth Smith. He was the beloved husband of Mickail Hawkins Simmons.
Fred graduated from Tufts University and he received an M.B.A. from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He had a distinguished career at MFS Investments for 34 years where he was a Senior Vice President and Mutual Fund Manager. Fred was an avid swimmer. He began competitive swimming when he was 8 years old, continued through high school and college, and then for many years competed in U.S. Masters Swimming. Fred collected antiques and he particularly loved his clock collection. Always reading, two recent favorites of Fred’s were The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt and Promised Land: Thirteen Books that Changed America by Jay Parini. Fred loved all kinds of music from Bo Diddley and The Rolling Stones to Brahms and Mahler. He always looked forward to traveling to New York City to attend opera performances at the MET. Fred and Mickail enjoyed many years of traveling together and their favorite vacations were bicycle trips through France. More recently Fred enjoyed swimming, using the gym, and attending lectures at Linden Ponds as well as going to Boston to hear the BSO perform. Fred and Mickail were married for 30 years and they shared a deep love. Fred is survived by his sister, Elizabeth Resta and her husband, Robert; his daughter Brett Poza and her husband Ricardo; his son Nick Simmons and his wife Stephanie; his step daughter Emily Koch and her husband Tom Daniels; and his step son John Koch. He also leaves four grandchildren, Sam and Sophia Poza, Natalie and Sydney Simmons, as well as three step grandchildren, Henry, Oliver and Ella Daniels-Koch.
A non-denominational memorial service will be held at 3:00 pm followed by a reception at the Seasons Catering Room at Linden Ponds in Hingham, MA, Sunday, January 18, 2015. Please no flowers. If you wish to remember Fred, please send a contribution to www.michaeljfox.org for Parkinson’s research. If you would like to leave a message for the family please click on the candle