Sister Edythe Altair Simmons, daughter of the late Charles A. and Lillie Mae Simmons, was born in Savannah, Georgia on March 27, 1931, and passed away in her sleep on April 14, 2026. She accepted Christ as a young member of First Bryan Baptist Church and became active in the church school, the Junior Choir and attended Vacation Bible School each summer. Educated in the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, Edythe graduated from Beach High School. She learned to sew from her aunt and worked part time in a local dress shop to earn extra money.

After graduating from high school, Edythe followed a friend north to Philadelphia and found a position as a maid at Episcopal Academy. When the school term ended, she went to Bryn Mawr College. She landed a position as a maid in one of the campus dorms and used her sewing skills to help students decorate their rooms and made clothing alterations as needed. She also participated in typing classes at the Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) in Norristown, PA and improved her sewing skills by attending summer classes for tailoring at Berean School in Philadelphia. Edythe was proud of her association with the Main Line college community having served at teas for the president of Bryn Mawr College.

Edythe’s ability to learn new skills led her to a position as the relief switchboard operator for the dormitory, later becoming the permanent operator when the job became available. Later, new telephone technology eventually allowed a telephone in every student’s room and eliminated her job. She was not discouraged and sought out new opportunities at Bryn Mawr College. This drive and determination led her to obtain a position in the college’s Facilities and Maintenance division. She became successful in the use of walkie-talkie equipment that she used to give work orders for the various personnel. Edythe worked in this division until her retirement about 45 years after starting at Bryn Mawr College.

Edythe Simmons came to Bethel AME Church in Bryn Mawr through her association with member Louise Jones, who encouraged all waitresses to attend church on their Sundays off work. Originally, under watch care after the blessing of her home church pastor, Edythe assumed regular attendance. As a member of Bethel Bryn Mawr, she regularly attended bible study. As an “unofficial member” of the church Flower Guild, Sister Edythe could always be relied upon to help in the kitchen wherever she was needed, often the first to arrive and the last to leave. She was recognized by the church Lay Organization as their 2011 Unsung Hero and was recognized along with other honorees at an annual awards luncheon hosted by the Philadelphia Conference Lay Organization of the AME Church. A few years later she moved back home to Savannah and rejoined her home church, First Bryan Baptist Church.

Sister Edythe’s belief in helping those less fortunate brought her in contact with Women of Hope, a project founded to aid homeless women in Philadelphia. She is also a past member of the Charittees, an organization that raised scholarship money for Main Line churches. Although a hard worker most of her life she found time to relax by traveling in the United States and the Caribbean. She said, “God has brought me from a mighty long way and all I have ever needed His hand has provided.”

Edythe was preceded in death by her parents Charles A. and Lillie Mae Simmons and her brother Charles A. Simmons.

She is survived by nephew Jason A. Simmons; cousins: Amos Michael (Janice) Johnson of Nashville, TN, Yvonne P. Baker of Savannah, GA, Hakima Al-Zahra of New York, Yvette M. (Robert) Hickson of Columbia, South Carolina, Adrian M. (Veronique) Johnson, Sr. of Nashville, TN, Rashida Mahmood of New York, Valerie Johnson of New York, Cecelia S. Johnson of New York, and Brandie Lee Johnson; sister-in-law Alice Strong-Simmons of Oklahoma City; best friend Valencia Powell; and a host of other cousins and friends.

Public Viewing will be held on Friday, April 24, 2026 from 11:00am-1:00pm at Campbell and Sons Funeral Home, 2520 Bonaventure Road, Savannah, GA 31404.

Graveside Services will be held on Friday, April 24, 2026 at 2:00pm at Magnolia Memorial Gardens, 5532 Silk Hope Road, Savannah, GA 31405, where she shall rest.

Please sign our guestbook at www.campbellandsonsfuneralhome.com