H. Simmons Tate, Jr.

H. Simmons, Tate, Jr., passed peacefully at Bishop Gadsden, surrounded by family members on September 12, 2024. He was born in Taylors, SC, on September 19, 1930, and raised in Clemson, SC. His father, Dr. Harold Simmons Tate, Sr., was a professor of Industrial Education at Clemson College, served in World War II as Provost Marshall in the South Pacific and subsequently advised Japan, the Nationalist Government of China, the Philippines and Greece on the textile industry. His mother was Cleone Clayton, who could quote poetry she’d learned in high school and spoke a number of languages including fluency in Latin.

Simmons was a loving and loyal son, husband, father, grandfather, friend and consummate gentleman. He was also a scholar, traveled widely and served his community generously on countless Boards; but he was best known and revered for his deep understanding of SC law and extraordinary abilities as a business and commercial litigation attorney.

After spending his senior year of high school (1946-47) in Tokyo, where his father served on the US Supreme Command, Simmons attended Harvard College where he graduated Cum Laude, spent a summer in Shanghai with his parents, joined the Army and was stationed in Germany. During his deployment, in 1952, he married the beautiful Elizabeth Anne Coker of Darlington, SC, in Athens, Greece. 

Following the completion of his military service as a Lieutenant, Simmons received his Juris Doctor from the Harvard Law School, moved to Columbia, SC, and joined a predecessor firm of Haynesworth, Sinkler and Boyd, P.A., with which he practiced for 46 years. As a Partner in his firm, he enjoyed mentoring young lawyers and guiding them in their professional development. Admitted to the SC Bar in 1956, he was also admitted to practice before the state and federal courts and the US Supreme Court. He was a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a life member of the American Law Institute and a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference. 

Simmons served as chairman of the US District Court Advisory Committee and as a member of the Advisory Committee on Rules and Procedures for the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and on the Judicial Qualifications Committee for the SC Bar. He was a co-draftsman of the SC Rules of Evidence, later adopted by the SC Supreme Court. In 2002, he was the recipient of the SC Bar Association’s highest award, the Durant Public Service Award. 

Simmons was a devout Christian and was on the Vestry of Trinity Cathedral in Columbia and a member of St. Michaels in Charleston. When Simmons was in his 80’s, he and his wife Elizabeth went on a mission trip to Ukraine.

Simmons was deeply involved in numerous civic and community organizations. He chaired the Columbia Board of Supervisors of Registration and the Richland County Mental Health Center. He was president of the Columbia Philharmonic Orchestra and the Columbia Stage Society and served as a trustee of the Lucy Hampton Bostick Foundation. He also served on the boards of Historic Columbia Foundation, the Richland County Public Library, the Charleston Library Society, the SC Historical Society and the Archaeological Research Trust. 

After retiring, and in his 70’s, Simmons returned to school to study SC history and earned a Masters of Arts (2005) and a Doctorate (2008) at USC. One of his Masters papers, “And Then There Were Two,” was read to community groups to great acclaim. His dissertation was entitled “SC’s Reception of English Law.”

While working and during retirement, Simmons and his wife traveled extensively, treating their children and grandchildren to wonderful trips. He also enjoyed a second home in North Carolina, purchased when his children were teenagers. 

Surviving him are his wife of 71 years, Elizabeth Anne Coker; daughters, Mary Elizabeth Tate, Virginia Clayton Tate (Terri) and Martha Coker Tate Dougherty (Park); and grandchildren, Elizabeth Dougherty Weiland (Kyle,) Francis Tate Dougherty (Margaret) and Renée Pauline Dougherty.

A memorial service will be held at Trinity Cathedral at 12:00 on September 19, 2024 followed by a reception in Satterlee Hall. The Burial will be held at Elmwood Cemetery for the family. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr Inc., Downtown Chapel.

Memorials may be given in the name of H. Simmons Tate, Jr. to Missions Fund at St. Michaels Church, 71 Broad Street, Charleston, SC 29401.