Barbara Ann ‘Mick’ (Meiklejohn) Simmons

SALISBURY — Barbara Ann (Meiklejohn) Simmons, known to most as “Mick,� died on Oct. 26, 2009, at Yale-New Haven Hospital after a long battle with cancer. Her adoring family surrounded her.

Barbara was born on April 2, 1949, in Seattle, Wash., and lived there until her family moved across the country and settled in Longmeadow, Mass. It was at Longmeadow High School in a sea of “Barbara Annsâ€� that she became “Mick,â€� a name that stuck with her the rest of her life and forever set her apart from those around her.  

She studied at the University of Vermont, where she met a confident young hockey player named Sam Simmons, who took her to see the Moody Blues and later took her for Jeep rides. She graduated in 1971, married Sam in 1972, and moved to South Kent School with her family in 1978, where they stayed for 20 years before moving to Salisbury School in 1998.

You have met Mick. Maybe you received one of her hugs that allowed you to feel both supported and comforted, strong and vulnerable. You may have been one of the new mothers she guided through making curtains, healing children and maintaining joy. Perhaps you saw the garden work she did all over Salisbury to make the town look fresh and alive. You may have been lucky enough to have been given a batch of her chocolate chip cookies or Christmas toffee. Or maybe you sat behind her yellow “Live Strongâ€� jersey as she rowed a racing shell on Washinee Lake, following her powerful, graceful stroke. Perhaps she told you about how proud she was of her four children or how excited she was to finally be a grandmother. You may have even been there to celebrate her 37th wedding anniversary. Maybe when you talked to her, you didn’t even know how sick she was because she asked about you and your family, brought you flowers, smiled, hugged and left you feeling cared for.  

We have all been awed by how one woman could be filled with so much joy, could share so generously, could shine so brightly.  We have not tried to figure it out; instead, we have just taken our moments with Mick as gifts and been thankful that she was in the world.  

She is survived by her husband, Sam; her children, Molly, Katherine and Tom Simmons and Rebecca and Peter Cooke; her granddaughter, Madeline Cooke; her mother, Barbara deGersdorff; her sister, Jean Maggioncalda; and her stepbrother, Steve deGersdorff.  

A celebration of Mick’s life will be held on Monday, Dec. 28, at 1 p.m. at the Salisbury School Chapel. All are welcome.   

Latest News

Water main cleaning in North Canaan

NORTH CANAAN – Aquarion Water Company today announced a water main cleaning project in the company’s North Canaan system. The project is scheduled to take place from Monday, April 1 through Tuesday, April 16, and is being undertaken to ensure customers in North Canaan continue to receive the highest quality water.

The cleaning for April 1 and April 4 (subject to change) will take place on the following streets:

Keep ReadingShow less
Tuning up two passions under one roof

The Webb Family in the workshop. From left: Phyllis, Dale, Ben and Josh Webb, and project manager Hannah Schiffer.

Natalia Zukerman

Magic Fluke Ukulele Shop and True Wheels Bicycle Shop are not only under the same roof in a beautiful solar powered building on Route 7 in Sheffield, but they are also both run by the Webb family, telling a tale of familial passion, innovation and a steadfast commitment to sustainability.

In the late ‘90s, Dale Webb was working in engineering and product design at a corporate job. “I took up instrument manufacturing as a fun challenge,” said Dale. After an exhibit at The National Association of Music Merchants in Anaheim, California, in 1999, The Magic Fluke company was born. “We were casting finger boards and gluing these things together in our basement in New Hartford and it just took off,” Dale explained. “It was really a wild ride, it kind of had a life of its own.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert Cray’s soulful blues coming to Infinity Hall

Robert Cray

Photo provided

Blues legend Robert Cray will be bringing his stinging, funky guitar and soulful singing to Infinity Hall Norfolk on Friday, March 29.

A five-time Grammy winner, Cray has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and earned The Americana Music Awards Lifetime Achievement for Performance. He has played with blues and rock icons including Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton and many more.

Keep ReadingShow less