Willie was a distant cousin of mine. We shared a set of great-great grandparents. I just saw him last week at a talk about the history of Carvins Cove.
His older sister, Monty, died in 2016 when she was hit by a vehicle in Floyd County. She was my friend and cousin too. She was a writer, and we talked shop often, even occasionally challenging one another via email to write or work on projects.
I never was able to properly mourn his wife Brenda's death, because of Covid and the family had a private ceremony. And now her husband has gone in a shocking and horrible way.
He is survived by a son who lives out of state.
I wrote several articles about Willie when I worked for the newspaper. He and Brenda were important members of the Town of Fincastle, the county seat. He served as the town mayor for a while, and Willie and Brenda were instrumental in keeping the Christmas lights going in the town for many years. They were pillars of the community.
Here is an article I wrote about Willie in 2009:
***
A gift to a sister has given wood turner Willie Simmons of Fincastle a new and useful implement to add to his creations of bowls, pepper mills, and other products.
The master craftsman in February came across a "bunch of this colored wood" through a friend in Pennsylvania. The wood, scraps from a gunsmith, have become fun and colorful handles under Simmons' skillful hands.
He added a decorative handle to a seam ripper and gave it to his sister, Monty Leitch, who took it with her to a sewing class. "A lot of people saw it and wanted one," Simmons said. He went to Walmart and bought all of the seam rippers he could find in order to create more.
Since then, the product has been a big hit with local sewing enthusiasts - so much so that one of them wrote the item up for Threads magazine, "the crown jewel" of sewing magazines, as Simmons called it.
The seam rippers will be a featured "great gift" in an article scheduled to appear in the November magazine. Simmons is expecting to receive many orders on his website (wpswoodturning.com) when the article comes out.
Seam rippers as sold in stores are small and easily lost; the handles that Simmons places on the product make the seam ripper less likely to become another victim of the junk drawer gremlins. The handle also makes the product easier to manipulate and appears to be particularly helpful to those with arthritis or other hand ailments that may impede use. Additionally, the handle is reusable and metallic "ripper" part can be replaced if it becomes dull with use.
"I'm tickled to death" with the way the handles have worked out, Simmons said. "I've hit on something people can use."
The wooden handles come in pink, blue, purple, orange, camouflage, red and other colors as the wood becomes available. Because the wood is nearly 400 miles away and of a limited supply, these products may be limited not only in color but also in availability, Simmons said. The limited supply also means he cannot create special orders.
The colored wood also makes decorative handles for ice cream scoopers and make up brushes. The interesting colors are eye-catching, and these products are selling well at craft shows and in Simmons' shop.
As a craftsman, Simmons said he likes for his items to do more than sit on a shelf. "I don't make art work," he said, though some of his pieces are as decorative and lovely as they are useful. "I like stuff being used."
He has been a wood turner wood for over 25 years, and woodworker for more than 30. He became interested in working with wood when he was helping his father with his furniture and antique repair shop, which was located at the same site as Simmons' woodworking shop.
For the last 20 years, Simmons has honed his craft and sold his work at various arts and crafts shows. Many of the festivals he attends are out of state or in northern Virginia.
Simmons last year began creating walking sticks as a special order for a Charlottesville businessman who, after adding his own touches, sells them to Orvis. The walking sticks, which are made of tiger maple wood, can be purchased from the mail order company's online catalogue. "I'm very pleased with the work I have done" on the sticks, Simmons said. "I think they are gorgeous."
The sticks sell online for $279.00. Simmons has some sticks for sale at his shop, though they are not exactly like the ones available through Orvis. They have different finishes or have not been stained. Supplies are limited, he said.
The sticks he sells frequently have "ambrosia streaks" in them, and the sticks online do not have those markings. Ambrosia streaks are created when a beetle that attacks maple trees leaves its byproduct in the wood. The stain leaves unique streaks, Simmons explained. It's a desirable thing in the wood.
He has also been experimenting with the walking stick designs and has created a two-part walking stick that may also be used as a cane.
Simmons will have his wood working shop open during Botetourt's Open Studios, which takes place October 26 and 27. His work is for sale anytime he is at his shop.
