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A Cord<br />
of<br />
3 Strands<br />
Nestled into a corner of Florence,<br />
Mississippi, is the home of Sam and<br />
Peggy Simmons, two of the most<br />
genuine and loving people I have<br />
ever had the pleasure of meeting.<br />
I was greeted at the door with a hug, smiles,<br />
and excitement. It was an honor to be<br />
welcomed into their home to hear how<br />
their love story unfolded.<br />
In August of 1950, Sam Simmons was<br />
asked to escort three young ladies who were<br />
bridesmaids at his friend’s wedding. One of<br />
those bridesmaids was Peggy.<br />
“That was our first meeting,” said Sam.<br />
“We knew we liked each other, so the next<br />
day after the wedding, I brought her back to<br />
Florence–with the permission of her mother.<br />
We got engaged in October.”<br />
Sam was a senior at Mississippi State<br />
University at the time. “After we got engaged,<br />
I couldn’t stay away from her. I went to see<br />
her on the weekends or she came to see me<br />
in Starkville. It was a whirlwind. That’s when<br />
I realized I couldn’t live without her,”<br />
said Sam.<br />
Sam and Peggy married on December<br />
17, 1950, and recently celebrated their 65th<br />
anniversary. They have six children, fourteen<br />
grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren.<br />
Sam and Peggy made their home in Florence<br />
in the house that formerly belonged to<br />
Peggy’s parents.<br />
“It has been a good 65 years,” said Sam.<br />
“Our marriage has been built, first of foremost,<br />
on faith. We both have a strong faith in the<br />
Lord Jesus Christ. Church and Sunday school<br />
are very important to us. Our family and<br />
children grew up in that environment.”<br />
Sam offered advice to new married couples:<br />
“The man needs to learn to say I’m sorry,<br />
forgive me, and I love you. You’re always<br />
going to have some friction, and it’s not bad<br />
to have some pretty big fights because it’s so<br />
much fun to make up.”<br />
Peggy added her words of wisdom. “No<br />
marriage is perfect. You are completely different<br />
in personality from your spouse. We’re just all<br />
different. When you realize that, you’re better<br />
off because you learn to get along.”<br />
“We never considered divorce, but we did<br />
consider homicide a few times!” joked Sam.<br />
“You have to realize that when you marry,<br />
you’re not just marrying the one you love.<br />
You’re marrying their family,” added Peggy.<br />
“I realized that Sam was from a very nice family.<br />
I was impressed with that because they were<br />
all sweet, thoughtful, and kind. Sam has always<br />
been sweet and thoughtful and kind to me.”<br />
“Sam is just a good man. I think he’s a<br />
keeper. He certainly did everything in the<br />
world to try to make us happy and see to it<br />
that I didn’t have to go to work. He made the<br />
living for us. I don’t think I realized, until<br />
later years, that I could have had no choice<br />
but to go to work. I always appreciated that<br />
and tried to count my blessings even though it<br />
was very hard to stay at home and raise the<br />
children. He always helped me in any way<br />
that he could,” said Peggy.<br />
Sam recalled, “I’ve heard Peggy make the<br />
statement, ‘I didn’t do anything. I just stayed<br />
at home.’ But she was working when I got up<br />
in the morning—ironing and fixing lunches.<br />
When I went to bed at night, she was still<br />
working. So I don’t buy that she didn’t do<br />
anything. She did a lot to raise six children, and<br />
that was a lot harder than what I had to do.<br />
We worked it out when we worked together.”<br />
“We’ve enjoyed our children and<br />
grandchildren as they’ve been born. They live<br />
in different states. We always look forward to<br />
seeing them,” said Peggy as Sam showed me a<br />
family photo album.<br />
“I think we are kindred spirits in agreement<br />
about what’s important and what’s not<br />
important,” said Sam. “Faith first, family<br />
second, friends third, and then community.<br />
I think those are some pretty good building<br />
blocks.”<br />
As Sam and Peggy said goodbye to me<br />
with hugs and well wishes, I felt as if I was<br />
already one of the family–after spending just<br />
one hour with them. These two are a true<br />
example of a marriage woven into the Lord. n<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Rankin</strong> • 57