Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1910-02-18
NOTED MANUFACTURES, BANKER
AND PHILANTHROPIST, DIES
AFTER BRIEF ILLNESS.
ONLY HONORARY G. A. R. MEMBER
Wisconsin Civil War Survivors Hear
with Great Sorrow of Their
Friends Demise.
MILWAUKEEANS OFFER TRIBUTES.

| KENOSHA, Wis, Feb. II. = [Spe-
! cial. ALI Kenosha is in mourning to-
! day. 2. G. Simmons is dead.
The most distinguished resident of the
! city and the great leader in its industrial
affairs died at his residence on Prairie
avenue, Friday night. Mr.. Simmons had
| been confined to his home since last
| Sunday night and death was not unex-
pected to the members of the family who
| had gathered at the bedside.
The same indomitable spirit which had
so characterized the life of Mr.. Sim
mons and made him prominent in great
works remained with him to the very
| end, and he went out into the great lie
beyond fully conscious of the approach
Ing end. He met death as he had met
| life, with his spirit unbroken, and he
lived every bit of life in him. Only in
the last few seconds of life did he give
up and he dropped asleep which knows
| no awakening.
Mr. Simmons death did not become
generally known in Kenosha until this
morning and then there were evidences
| of sorrow on every side. Flags were
hung at half-mast and the great factory
which bears the name of the deceased
manufacturer did not open for the day.
| When the great army of workmen went
| to the factory they found the doors
closed and the simple announcement waa
|
The love of the workmen for their en-
ployer was shown by the fact that many
! of them turned from the factory with
tears coursing down their cheeks. In all
parts Of the city the death of Mr.. Sim
mons was the one topic of conversation
and throughout the city the deceased was
spoken of in terms of reverence.
Works to the Last.
Mr., Simmons had not been in the best
| IL hut 4 hS,tar HiT1(r
this fact he remained at his work end
on last Saturday was as usual at As
| desk In the office of the Simmons Man
ufacturing company, and spent nearly
the entire day at work. On Sunday he
had expressed himself as feeling I'M
usually we'll and on Sunday evening he
had attended church at the First Uni
tartan church, of which he was a mem
Der. He was taken i'll after his return
from church and since that time he had
been confined to his bed.
During the past few days his relatives
had been alarmed as to his condition,
but many times in the past Mr.. Simmons
had been very ill, but his splendid con-
dition had always made it possible tor
him to rally from these attacks and up
to the last the relatives had been nope
full that he might again recover health
and strength.
Just after o'clock Friday evening
his condition took a turn for the worse
and he sank rapidly. At the bedside
| when the final summons came We're the
| members Of his immediate household and
the family of his son, q. G. Simmons. Jr.
Passes Four Score Mark.
Mr.. Simmons faced the inevitable
| bravely and up to the last few minutes
of his conscious existence hoped for re-
covery. Mr. Simmons was 81 years Of
age the 10th of last September, but he
was a remarkably we'll preserved man
! and even though he had passed the four
score milestone in life it was his pride
that he was able to take care of the
large business interests under his con-
troll.
Few men in Kenosha were more Uni
versally beloved than Mr.. Simmons. his
long life in Kenosha together with his
benefactions to the city and to its inter
ests made him a man known to almost
every man, woman and child in the city
and his death will cause the deepest sor-
row in many homes.
Daughter in Florida.
Mr. Simmons is survived by his daugh-
ters Mrs. Arthur T. Towne of Evans
ton, who is now hurrying to Kenosha
from Belleair, Fla. Mrs. A. H. Lance of
Kenosha and Zalmond G. Simmons, Jr.
Ezra Simmons is the sole surviving
brother, and Mrs. J. NJ. Stebbins the sole
| surviving sister.
ARRANGEMENTS for the funeral are not
fully completed, but it will be held from
the Henry NJ. Simmons church on Mon
day afternoon at o'clock. The services
| will be in charge of Rev. Florence Buck.
| pastor of the church, and she will be as
sisted by Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones and
Bishop Samuel Fallows of Chicago. In
terment will be at the family plot at the
| Kenosha city cemetery.
AS the only honorary member Of the
Grand Army of the Republic, Mr. Sim
mons was known all over the country,
particularly in connection with the year
| " entertainment for Wisconsin veterans,
| although he himself was not a soldier.
Parents Were Pioneers.
Zalmon Gilbert Simmons became a
| resident of Kenosha in 1913. He was
of German-English family. His father,
lured by the great promise of the coun-
try west of Lake Michigan, set out by
| boat from Rome, n. Y, with his wife
and young boy for Lake county, ILL.,, but
landed at Southport, as Kenosha was
| then called.
The son was then Is years of age,
but large, strong and of great courage
and determination. In his eighteenth
year he became a school teacher, fol-
lowing this bent until attaining his ma
jority, when he entered Seth Doan's
store at q salary of 5000 a year He
soon was placed in charge of the store
and within two years he had become
proprietor in what he developed into a
most profitable business.
In 1856 Mr.. Simmons acquired a half
| interest in the Wisconsin State Tele-