Presha Ann Simmons

PRESHA ANN SIMMONS, a resident of the Sonoma House in Carrollton, Texas went to be with her Lord and Savior on Monday, April 17, 2023, after a long, but well fought battle with Alzheimer’s including dementia.  She was born in Ada, Oklahoma on June 3, 1944, to Warren G. and Hallie Virginia (Turk) Hensley.

Presha is survived by her loving husband of 57 years, Harold D. Simmons along with her sons David and wife Sandi of Taylors, SC, Dru and his wife Jeannie of Columbus, OH and Craig of Albuquerque, NM, AND her brother Hal W. Hensley and his wife Cyndi of San Antonio, TX.  Also, her very special uncle, Monte Turk of Sedalia, Colorado.  She was also known as “Aunt Presha” to many nephews and nieces from Harold’s family which was a good thing because she was never blessed with grandchildren, and we always joked about that.  She would have made a wonderful grandmother !!

Presha grew up in Carlsbad, NM with her family and graduated from Carlsbad High School Class of 1962 in the top 10 of her class academically.  Presha was also selected as the Key Club Sweetheart, Spring Sports Queen and Snowball Queen of the school in 1962.  Presha and her son Craig moved to the Dallas, Texas area in 1967 and became part of the Simmons Family when she married Harold on October 14, 1966, and they lived in Farmers Branch, Texas.  She also lived in the Rochester, NY area for 10 years and back to Carrollton, Texas for the balance of her life.

Presha was very active and loved her family.  She felt very honored to have Harold in her life and she supported and stood by Harold’s side with unwavering devotion.  As a couple, Presha and Harold were an example of what a truly loving relationship is all about.  Also, Presha stayed busy shuffling the 3 boys schedules and activities from school and orchestra to football and baseball unselfishly.  Even after a full and busy day, she always made sure dinner was on the table and her family always ate together.  Her favorite time was spent for a week each summer with the family at the beach in Port Aransas, Texas.  She loved walking the beach hunting for seashells and of course, unbroken sand dollars.  Even after the boys married and moved off for work, the tradition was restarted spending Thanksgiving week at Port Aransas every other year.  Presha also enjoyed spending time with her brother, Hal and wife Cyndi in San Antonio, Texas.

Presha made many good friends throughout her years.  She was very involved in her church and enjoyed lunches and spending time with Kay Neale and Diane Shiflett.  She also had many friends during her times of volunteering at Janie Stark Elementary School.  She worked with the PTA, organized school carnivals and school functions for many years with her “partners in crime” Nancy Watten, Anne Petty and Paula Wharton.  Together, they planned and organized many fun activities at the school.

The best and most humorous job that Presha had, and the family talks about most often, was the Crosswalk Lady for the Farmers Branch Police Department.  Once the boys got settled into school at Janie Stark, a crossing guard position became available in front of the school, on the corner of Josey Lane and Farmers Branch Lane and Presha jumped at the opportunity and held that position for 8 years.  She became known as ” MRS SIMMONS ” and was very popular with all of the children crossing daily (and because she had a motor scooter) and she received many happy compliments (and people waving) from the community that passed by each day.  It was a very busy intersection, but Presha handled it just fine for years by herself.

The family will be receiving visitors on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the Brooks Family Chapel of the North Dallas Funeral Home, 2710 Valley View Lane, Farmers Branch,  Texas 75234.

Celebration of Life service will be held on Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 1:00 pm at Bethel Presbyterian Church, 17990 Midway Road, Dallas, Texas 75287.

Interment will be  held the following Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 10:30 am at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, Texas 75211

The family would like to THANK the members of the Sonoma House team for the wonderful care they provided for “Mrs Presha” for the past 3 1/2 years…You All have been GREAT !!  A very special and loving THANK YOU to Presha’s Hospice nurse, Mary Atkins.  In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Alzheimer’s Foundation in Presha’s name because we need to find a way to end this cruel disease. The local chapter of the National Alzheimer’s Associations is:

Alzheimer’s Association Dallas and Northeast Texas Chapter

5000 Quorum Drive, Suite 530
Dallas, Texas 75254