Hometown Rankin - February & March 2016

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