John D. Simmons

GALVA – John D. Simmons, 76, of Galva, died at 2:45 p.m., Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at OSF St. Mary Medical Center in Galesburg.

A Private Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. John Catholic Church in Galva. Concelebrants will be Fr. John Burns and Fr. Lee Brokaw. A public visitation will be held from 4:00-7:00 p.m., Friday, October 23 at Rux Funeral Home in Galva. Burial will be in Galva Cemetery where military rites will be accorded by the Galva Fusiliers.  Memorials may be directed to the Galva Arts Council or to the Illinois Valley Blacksmith Association. The funeral home will monitor capacity limits to maintain compliance with COVID regulations. The funeral home requires that all guests wear a mask for the safety of all those attending.

He was born April 26, 1944 in Kewanee, the son of Wilbur “Bill” A. and Gertrude “Gert” Eunice Aileen (Carlson) Simmons. He married Linda DeMay on June 21, 1975 in Galva. Survivors include his wife of Galva, his children; Gillian (Scott) Oliver of Fort Wayne, IN, Caitlin (Ronnie) Grant of Davenport, IA, Natalie (Brock) Boelens of Cambridge and Luke Simmons of Mahomet, two grandchildren, Noah and Aileen, a brother, Jim (Linda) Simmons of West Plains, MO and two sisters, Judy (Roger) Anderson of Galva and Jackie (John) White of Prairie Village, KS. He was preceded in death by his parents.

John graduated from Galva High School in 1962. He served his country in the Army during the Vietnam War in Korea. He worked in the highway maintenance department for the State of Illinois until his retirement and had also worked for the City of Galva. He attended St. John Catholic Church in Galva with his family for many years and was recently confirmed into the Catholic faith. In his early years he enjoyed golfing and had been an assistant Scoutmaster. His passion was being a master blacksmith and had taught blacksmithing classes and was a member of the Illinois Valley Blacksmith Association. He was also a founding member and a past president of the Galva Arts Council. He also had a lawn mowing business and was involved in many of the Bishop Hill activities. He thoroughly enjoyed barbecuing and had entered several cook-offs with his brother-in-law. He always claimed that the secret was in the sipping sauce. Most of all, he loved his family and enjoyed attending and following their events.

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