Individual Details

Death

Born to Joe Walker Simmons and Ida Janell Anthony Simmons on January 6, 1943 at home somewhere in Rowan County, Kannapolis, North Carolina. She is survived by her first husband Norris Wayne Wyatt and their 2 children Timothy (Cynthia) Wyatt and Pamela (James) Furr, and brothers Tony (Paula) Simmons of Albemarle and Don (Louise) Simmons and Mike (Janet) Simmons both of Kannapolis. Her second husband William Gaston Rowland passed away Christmas Day of 2009. For a long time she thought she had been born in Madison County Georgia like most of the siblings, but she in fact was the first sibling born after the family migrated to Kannapolis for textile jobs that were booming from Cannon Mills. Her official birthdate is January 12, 1943 because when they went to the courthouse to register her birth it was January 12 and that was the date they put in the official records. For a long time she celebrated both birthdays. At the age of 14 she met and married Norris Wayne Wyatt. She would have 5 pregnancies but only 2 children lived. Timothy Wayne Wyatt and his younger sister Pamela Kay Wyatt Furr. Sometime in 1976 her and Norris parted ways and she met and married the second and last love of her life William Gaston Rowland and they married sometime in 1977. They had a long and happy marriage and it was the most fun I ever saw her have. William or Bill as the family called him passed away on Christmas Day 2009. Jo mourned his loss terribly, attempting to take her own life once after. She began treatment and got better. She had battled cancer and won before Bill passed, and few month after he passed it returned and so did her will to live. She would battle cancer 4 times in her life and beat it every time but the day after the last lung cancer was declared in remission, she went into congestive heart failure. She received treatment but just could not rebound this time no matter how hard she tried and she did fight every inch of the way. Up until 3 days before her death she was still getting up at 7 every morning no matter when she went to bed and helping cook breakfast. On December 15 her family threw her a big open house celebration and many of her friends family and neighbors came by to see her one last time. She fought against going to bed at 10:30 that night, but she was so tired, and had a good night sleep. At 8 AM almost on the dot she passed peacefully from complications brought on by lung cancer. Goodbye Momma.