L G Simmons' Obituary
Lafeyette George Simmons was born on 7/29/1929 in Brownwood, Texas. He grew up during the Great Depression with his family barely skating by disastrous situations many times. He was the youngest of 9 children, so he wasn’t required to pick cotton like his older brothers and sisters. He dropped out of school halfway through his 9th grade year and when he was 17 joined the army hoping to send his mother money to help out. It was 1946 after WW2, so he was sent to Korea for 2 years. While in Korea he was considered a sharp shooter.
Upon returning from Korea in 1948, his mother had returned all the money he had sent her which equaled to $10,000. He bought an old car and set about working odd jobs until he ended up in Midland, Texas and was trained to be a locksmith. He eventually became a master locksmith and gunsmith. He ended up having a very successful locksmith company.
He was very respected in Midland, Texas by the police force because he repaired all their guns. One year before George Bush senior became president or vice president, he was looking for someone to fix a deep-sea fishing rod. When George Bush senior asked who was the best locksmith in Midland, they sent him to LG Simmons. When George expected LG to stop working on everyone else’s order and work on his, LG said he would work on orders that were already there and would work his order in when he could. LG fixed his pole and when George got it back, he was very pleased.
LG was a kind and generous man who tried to be fair to everyone and helped many people.
LG was preceded in death by his wife Pauline, who worked beside him for 43 years. He always referred to her as his “sweetheart”. LG leaves behind his stepdaughter, Patricia Myrmel and her two children, Heidi Allen and Eric Myrmel. He and Pauline also had several great grandchildren. He also leaves behind his niece Loucille Slight.
LG’s funeral service will be Friday, February 21, 2025, at Rader Funeral Home starting at 2pm. Private interment will be at Resthaven Memorial Park in Midland, TX.
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