Born in Ontario on 14 September 1875, son of Joseph Simmons (1851-1936) and Mary Ann Hill (1849-1933), brother of Arthur Simmons, he came to Winnipeg and worked as a building contractor.
On 7 September 1910, he married Mabel Celia Parr (1887-1976) at Dauphin. They had six children: Lloyd Alvin Simmons (1913-1976), Mildred Evelyn Simmons (1914-1991), Walter John Simmons (1918-2009), Doris Louell Simmons (1920-1963), Verna Lorraine Simmons (1925-2011), and Joyce Marion Simmons (1927-2008). The family lived at 251 Baltimore Road (c1931).
He moved to Santa Monica, California before 1940 and died at Hernet, California on 1 September 1961.
Some of his construction work in Manitoba included:
Building
Location
Year
Status
288 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg
1913
Canadian Pacific Railway Station
Oakbank, RM of Springfield
1918
Canadian Pacific Railway Section House
Arden, Municipality of Glenella-Lansdowne
1918
Canadian Pacific Railway Section House
Arnes, RM of Gimli
1918
Canadian Pacific Railway Section House
Brookdale, Municipality of North Cypress-Langford
1918
Canadian Pacific Railway Section House
Carroll, Municipality of Oakland-Wawanesa
1918
Canadian Pacific Railway Section House
Ebor, RM of Pipestone
1918
Canadian Pacific Railway Section House
Elva, Municipality of Two Borders
1918
Canadian Pacific Railway Section House
Franklin, RM of Rosedale
1918
Canadian Pacific Railway Section House
Macdonald, RM of Portage la Prairie
1918
Canadian Pacific Railway Section House
Manitou, Municipality of Pembina
1918
Canadian Pacific Railway Section House
Plum Coulee, Municipality of Rhineland
1918
Canadian Pacific Railway Section House
Riverton, Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton
1918
RM of Cornwallis
1929-1930
Demolished (August 2000)
Marriage registration [Joseph Henry Simmons, Mabel Celia Parr], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Birth registrations [Lloyd Alvin Simmons, Mildred Evelyn Simmons, Walter John Simmons, Doris Louell Simmons], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Railway will expend $60,000 on buildings,” Winnipeg Tribune, 12 March 1918, page 7.
1931 Canada census, Ancestry.
Obituary [Lloyd Alvin Simmons], Winnipeg Free Press, 18 August 1976, page 53.
Joseph Henry Simmons, FamilySearch.
We thank Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 12 October 2025
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