William Jerome Simmons, Jr., affectionately known as BJ, was born on December 25, 1993, in Augusta, Georgia to Thomasina Robinson and William Simmons Sr. Growing up in Aiken, SC, he received Christ early and was a hard and diligent worker in the church. He attended Aiken High School and graduated with the Class of 2012. He went to the University of South Carolina Aiken before transferring to University of South Carolina to study Integrated Information Technology. After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree, he moved to Charlotte, NC and furthered his education and received a Master of Business Administration degree from East Carolina University. Towards the end of December 2020, Will literally matched with Whitley Shannon on a dating app called Hinge. After dating, they became engaged on June 18, 2022 and married the following year, June 11, 2023. Right after marriage, the couple became members of New Zion Church, which became their family away from home. God called him home on November 27, 2025, a month shy of his 32nd birthday. William’s legacy will live on, and he will be deeply missed by many that will cherish and honor his memory: his wife, Whitley Simmons; his daughter, Waverly Simmons; his mother, Thomasina Mahoney-Robinson (Harry); his father, Pastor William “Bill” Simmons, Sr. (Jeanette); his siblings, and a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family and friends. The family will receive friends and relatives at 2480 Elizabeth Drive, Dalzell. Visitation will be 11:00 A. M., Saturday, December 6, 2025 at New Zion Church, 217 West Todd Lane, Charlotte, North Carolina, followed by Funeral services at 12:00 Noon. The Funeral procession will leave immediately after services for Burial in the Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Peach Orchard Road (Highway 441), Dalzell. Services directed by Grier Funeral Service, Inc., 115 John McCarroll Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28216 – 704-332-7109 and The Management and Staff of Williams Funeral Home, Inc., 821 North Main Street, Sumter, SC.
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