| Our History |
 |
Simmons Institute of Funeral Service was founded in 1900 by Charles A. Genung and Lena R. Simmons as "Genung-Simmons Embalming Institute". The business was first incorporated in 1904 with a capital investment of $2000.00. Mr. Genung served as President and Demonstrator, Mrs. Simmons as Secretary and Instructor. Classes formed the first Tuesday of each month, making the curriculum three weeks long. |
| Mr. Genung, a second generation funeral director from Waterloo, New York, learned the early (and not always efficient) methods of embalming from his father Seth J. Genung. Interested in developing a more professional process, he experimented in the 1890's and attended seminars offered by embalming chemical suppliers. Eventually, he developed a more modern technique and instruments which, with improvements, are still in use today. He became particularly known for his axillary vein drain tube which was patented in 1906. He traveled throughout the United States and Canada, lecturing and demonstrating his methods at state conventions and seminars. One of the founders of the New York State Embalmers Association in 1900, Genung served as the first President. The association later combined with the New York State Undertakers Association to become the present New York State Funeral Directors Association. Lena Simmons became fascinated with the embalming process after attending an embalming seminar conducted by A. Johnson Dodge of the Dodge Chemical Company, located today in Cambridge, MA. Mrs. Simmons, a school teacher who taught grammar in high school, was educated in the physiological sciences at Syracuse University, College of Medicine. She was the first to introduce subcutaneous suturing (the blind stitch) in restorative art techniques to funeral service. Before her (Lena Simmons) career was concluded, she was to write on virtually every facet of embalming technique, funeral practice and psychology as well as to compose poetry, fiction, and humorous satire. Truly her gifted pen was, for all her active career, a genuine contribution to funeral service education." (Melissa Johnson Boffrey, American Funeral Director, January 1977) The Institute was renamed, in 1913, the "Syracuse School of Embalming and Sanitary Science" until 1931 when Baxter G. Simmons became President upon his mother's retirement. The school became known as "Simmons School of Embalming and Mortuary Science". Baxter shared his mother's fervor for excellence in funeral service education. His commitment to that goal was demonstrated by the broadened scope and increased depth of the curriculum. During his tenure, the course was expanded from 9 to 12 months. Upon the death of Baxter Simmons in 1968, his widow, Edith L. Simmons became Chairman of the Board of Trustees. She came to the task well prepared to carry on her husband's leadership. During her tenure, she moved the Institute to 1828 South Avenue, where it remains today. Philip J. Laurie, Edith's son, was appointed Chairman of the Board after his mother's death. Since the 1950's, he had served Simmons in a variety of faculty and administrative capacities. Mr. Laurie's greatest contribution to the Institute was to invest in and expand the Institute's Learning Resource Center. He hired the Institute's first professional librarian, Dorothea B. Schultes, who had extensive experience in developing libraries for major hospitals in the Syracuse area. No history of Simmons Institute would be complete without including Charles F. Hite, Jr., who, for thirty-five years from 1946-1981, served as Dean and President of the school. An eminent educator and administrator, his unstinting dedication contributed immeasurably to keeping Simmons at the forefront of Funeral Service Education. A new chapter began in the history of Simmons on February 1, 1986, when ownership of the Institute transferred to Maurice C. Wightman. A licensed funeral director, he is a 1964 graduate of Simmons and holds a Masters Degree of Business Administration from Syracuse University. During the height of the Vietnam War, Mr. Wightman gained extensive experience as an embalmer. He was later appointed Non-commissioned Officer in Charge of the United State Marine Corps Grave Registration Unit in Khe Sahn, South Vietnam. The first class of the Weekend Study Program was held on October 6, 1990. This program was first in the nation and remains the only one. The New York State Board of Regents voted, on July 24, 1992, that Simmons Institute of Funeral Service, Inc. be authorized by master plan approval to confer the degree of Associate of Occupational Studies (A.O.S.) on duly qualified students successfully completing the program. Simmons Institute, in conjunction with Cazenovia College, located in beautiful Cazenovia,NY, 20 miles east of Syracuse, signed two articulation agreements on August 17, 1997, leading to four-year Baccalaureate Degrees. |
|