When Geralyn Simmons passed away, the staff at the city
recreation department could think of no better way to remember her
than by encouraging disadvantaged children to read.
When Geralyn Simmons passed away, the staff at the city recreation department could think of no better way to remember her than by encouraging children to read.
Simmons had started a reading program when she was playground supervisor. Every week, she arranged for a guest speaker, including local police and firefighters, to read from a book. This summer, the staff started the Reading to Remember Program in her memory.
Throughout the seven-week camp, which ended Thursday, children 6 to 12 years old read independently for 15 minutes daily and staff read once a week from a chapter book. The camp served more than 40 children at four locations.
The program is just what Simmons would have wanted, said current playground supervisor Rachel Mariscal.
“(Simmons) loved kids ridiculously,” Mariscal said.
Simmons started working on the Playground Program 30 years ago as a teenager. She worked for the City of Gilroy for at least 10 years, stopping to raise her three boys and then returning as Playground Coordinator, said Mariscal.
“She’s really hard to describe. She’s a very giving, loving person,” said City Recreation Supervisor Gayle Glines, a good friend of Simmons.
When Luis Carrillo, Principal of Rod Kelley Elementary School, asked program coordinators using the school’s facility to add some academic curriculum into the summer program, the reading program returned under Simmons name.
Even during the two years before her death when she was sick, she kept a positive attitude, Mariscal said.
“Every time I saw her she was smiling,” Mariscal said. “She was a happy person.”
