Thomas Grange Simons V

Thomas Grange Simons V, age 88, of Mount Pleasant, SC passed away, on December 14, 2019 at the Roper Hospice Cottage in Mt. Pleasant. Born January 6, 1931 in Brooklyn NY, he was a son of the late Thomas Grange Simons IV, and Helen Holmes. He attended Moultrie High School. He was a graduate of RPI, and received his MBA from the Sloan School at MIT. In 1955, Grange married his beloved wife, Janice (Smyth). The couple moved to Eastchester, NY in 1960, where they raised their family.

Grange went through basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and later was part of the Civilian Intelligence Corps. He worked for Mobil Oil in New York City for 33 years, retiring in 1990. Grange enjoyed giving back and serving others, particularly through charitable donations to Russell Sage College, his wife's alma mater, the Stillhopes home, where he was a member of the Board of Trustees, and the Clergy Society, Friends of the Hunley, the Charleston Aquarium and many others. He was active in Cub Scouts as the Scout Master for Troop 4 in Eastchester, NY. Grange will be remembered by the many friends and family he helped with a project or a financial contribution at a time of need.

Grange fondly remembered his college breaks when he hitchhiked to Wyoming to work for the National Park Service cutting new hiking trails through the Grand Tetons. He always stayed fit and ran in the Cooper/Ravenel bridge run until he was 72. He enjoyed summers at the family lake house in Taborton, NY where he was a popular (except when he brought the rain) and active part of the Bowman Lake community. From there he would take his children camping throughout New England, including Acadia National Park, Mount Washington, Ausable Chasm, and Cape Cod. Grange instilled his love of nature in all his children.

Grange was always industrious and enjoyed working on various projects including building a terrace and a dock with diving board on Bowman Lake, building a seawall at his home in Mount Pleasant, and extensive gardens of all kinds. He could identify and care for a wide variety of plants and trees. Throughout his career as Vice President of Mobil, Grange traveled extensively throughout the world including Europe, the Middle East, Africa and parts of the US. He acquired many local artifacts, which adorned his home, and helped satisfy his incredible intellectual curiosity. He reconnected with old friends when he and Jannie retired to this family home in the Old Village of Mount Pleasant. They threw annual New Year's Eve parties and hosted old friends and new who came to visit. In his later years Grange was an avid reader of Civil War history, and the Wall Street Journal.

Most important, Grange will be remembered as a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather. He will be forever loved by his sons, Thomas Grange "Rovie" Simons VI (Vicki) of Wheaton Maryland, Nelson "Tip" Simons of West Hartford, CT; daughter, Janice Anne Kullman (Bill), of Washington DC; granddaughters, Sarah Simons, Laura Simons, Lindsay Simons and Katherine Kullman; grandsons Will Simons, Liam Kullman and Eric Glover; great grandson Khalil Simons-Morelli; great granddaughter Elliott Brown; as well as numerous extended family and friends. In addition to both of his parents, Grange was predeceased by his wife Janice Smyth Simons and his brother Frank Holmes Simons.

Special thanks to the nurses at the Intensive Care Unit of Roper Hospital in Mt. Pleasant for their care and compassion.

The family will receive friends on Friday, December 20, 2019 at J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. Mt Pleasant Chapel, 1494 Mathis Ferry Road from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. A graveside service will be held Saturday, December 21, 2019 at Christ Church Cemetery, 2304 North Highway 17 at 10:30 a.m. with a reception to follow at Grange's home.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to the South Carolina Nurses Foundation, 1301 Gervais Street, Suite 802, Columbia, SC 29201 or www.scnurses.org or Friends of the Hunley, 1250 Supply Street, Charleston, SC 29405 or www.hunley.org/donate.