| Charlotte Simmons | |
| April 18, 1916 - October 04, 2009 | |
| of Lake Forest, Illinois | |
| Memorial Service: 3:00 p.m. October 08, 2009 at The Church of the Holy Spirit 400 East Westminster Road Lake Forest, Illinois 60045 | |
| Charlotte Simmons, referred to by many as a “Grande Dame,” was noted for her civic involvement, prodigious entertaining, and wide array of friends and acquaintances. She died peacefully in her home in Lake Forest on Sunday morning, Oct. 4, with family members by her side.
Charlotte arrived in the Chicago area in 1957, settling in Lake Forest.
She immediately immersed herself in the Lake Forest/Chicago societies, becoming close friends with many of the movers and shakers of her time. Her involvement with the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Chicago was her initial foray into civic affairs, first organizing fundraisers in the northern suburbs and later serving on the board of the Society.
In 1964, Charlotte became acquainted with Carol Fox, the founding general manager of Lyric Opera of Chicago. That introduction led to her involvement as a member of the Women’s Board of Lyric Opera, later to the presidency of the Women’s Board (1972-74) and ultimately to her joining Lyric’s Board of Directors in 1976. In 2008 she was made a Life Director of the Board. She was one of only five women in Lyric’s history to serve on both the “big”
board and the Women’s Board.
She became close friends with Carol Fox’s successor, Ardis Krainik, who led the company as general director from 1981 until her death in 1997. She applied her interior design talents to the offices of Carol Fox and Ardis Krainik, and also to Lyric’s first Green Room, and to several Opera Balls.
“Charlotte Simmons was a longtime and steadfast member of the Lyric Opera family,” said William Mason, Lyric’s general director. “She was a great lover of opera, and she was a great friend to Carol Fox and Ardis Krainik and me. Her love of the art form and our company, her warmth, charm and graciousness made their marks on all who knew her. This organization was so important to her and she to us. Charlotte Simmons was someone whose roots with the company went back to the early days – it certainly is the end of an era with her passing.”
Charlotte was a tireless supporter and fundraiser for Lyric Opera. She entertained frequently at her home in Lake Forest on Lyric’s behalf, with the likes of such notable opera stars as Marilyn Horne, Luciano Pavorotti, Joan Sutherland, Tito Gobbi, and Renata Tebaldi among her guests for birthdays and other festive celebrations.
Charlotte had a strong interest in opera before her involvement with Lyric.
When she was growing up her mother took her to Atlanta whenever the Metropolitan Opera toured there.
Noted for her wit, charm and keen interest in people, she was a marvelous story teller in the finest of southern traditions. As any good raconteur, many of her stories were autobiographical and told of funny encounters she’d had over the years.
Through the years, Charlotte was also been active on the executive committee of the Metropolitan Opera National Council, the National Down’s Syndrome Society Board, and the Field Museum Women’s Board. Such wide experience engendered praise and recognition in the non-profit world, and Charlotte Simmons proved her worth again and again.
In the early 1970s, Charlotte added to her repertoire of civic involvement by undertaking the formation of a woman’s board for Lake Forest College.
The Woman’s Board sought to foster strong town-gown relations between the College and the town of Lake Forest. Over the course of 25 years, Charlotte’s house was often the site of many gatherings between college leaders and notables from the community; these events served to create a deeper appreciation and understanding between the town and the college. In 1974, she was elected to a Trusteeship where she continued to have a significant impact on the governance of the College. She was elected to a Life Trusteeship in 1985, and in 1991 received an Honorary Doctorate of Human Letters.
Charlotte ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬Barton Head was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 1916, daughter of a lumber company executive. She studied interior design at the Finch School in New York and graduated from the University of Alabama in 1938. Her years at the university included a close friendship with Bear Bryant, the infamous and longtime coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. Charlotte was the team’s Maid of Honor at their appearance in the 1936 Rose Bowl game.
Her first marriage in 1939 was to Jack Goodwin of Anniston, Alabama, with whom she came to Chicago when he became head of the Chicago office of Lee Higginson & Co., an investment firm. Previously, they lived in Washington, DC, when Mr. Goodwin served as an aide to the Under Secretary of War and then to General Eisenhower, later becoming a commissioner of the SEC. During the
war years, Charlotte did interior design for USO centers. The marriage
ended in divorce in 1962.
In 1964, Charlotte married Richard Simmons, a founder and partner of the Chicago investment banking firm Blunt, Ellis and Simmons. She and Mr.
Simmons were married for 25 years before his death in 1989.
Charlotte is survived by her three children, Andy Goodwin of Atlanta, GA, Barton Goodwin of Greenwich, CT, and Charlotte Tieken of Chicago, IL, two stepdaughters, Deedee Ehrhard of Vero Beach, FL, and Ginny Hardy of Barrington, IL; thirteen grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren.
Memorial service will be held at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest, IL, at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 8. In place of flowers, Charlotte has asked that donations be made to the National Down Syndrome
Society: www.ndss.org .
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