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PROFILE: Margaret Judkins Simmons

Ellen Robertson profiles Margaret Judkins Simmons, who passed on July 8:

Using her retirement funds, Mrs. Simmons opened an after-school tutoring program in 1984 called The Minority Youth Appreciation Society Learning Center — there was no physical center, but she had plans to build one. Her effort included help with parenting skills for the children’s families and help with homework.

[…]

Around 1988, she purchased an old house in Church Hill with the intent to remodel it. A newspaper article about her efforts came to the attention of a local contractor who called offering assistance.

After seeing the house, he told her it should be demolished. He pledged to demolish it and offered financial and labor assistance to build a new building. The center, constructed at 1803 N. 28th St., was finished in 1992.