WOODROW J. "PEDRO" SIMMONS

CHARLESTON -- Woodrow J. "Pedro" Simmons, 79, of Charleston, a former, longtime Mississippi County official, died Tuesday, March 3, 1992, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

He was born Dec. 25, 1912, in Mississippi County, son of George and Ida Jackson Simmons.

He had lived in Mississippi County his entire life.

He served as Mississippi County clerk from 1938-1950. From 1958-1960 he served as presiding commissioner. He served as Mississippi County sheriff from 1960-1976.

He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. He was a member of the United Methodist Church at Charleston.

He was a member of Charleston Lions Club, VFW Post 4294, American Legion, and Mississippi County Chapter of American Red Cross. He had been very active in Boy Scout programs and Charleston Little League sports.

On Jan. 30, 1938, he married Mary Jean Miller.

Survivors include his wife; a son, Woody Simmons of Columbia; three daughters, Suellen Fenton of Charleston, Jenneth Kellett of Memphis, Tenn., and Lucinda Kirchhoff of Lenexa, Kan.; a sister, Hazel Thomason of Brawley, Calif.; 10 grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter.

Four brothers preceded him in death.

Friends may call until noon today at McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston.

Funeral service will be at 2 p.m. today at the United Methodist Church here. The Rev. Richard Combs will officiate, with burial in IOOF Cemetery.