Cecil Henrietta Boyce

Cecil Henrietta Simmons was born on July 16, 1926, to the late Zula and Gurves Simmons in Fort Worth, TX. She passed away peacefully on May 21, 2025, in Bedford, Texas at the age of 98.

Cecil grew up in the Riverside area of Fort Worth, graduating from Carter-Riverside High School in 1943. She left Fort Worth in 1950, moving to Little Rock, AR where Celia was born in 1951. After returning to FW, she reconnected with Jim Nesbitt (from school days - they were Yell Leaders together in the 7th grade) who was in the Navy and they married and their first duty station was in Key West, FL where Jamie was born in 1955. Subsequent duty stations took the family to Norfolk, VA, Panama City, FL, Monterey, CA, Anaheim, CA, and San Diego, CA. She was preparing for the family move to the Philippines when Jim’s cancer diagnosis was made. After Jim’s death in 1971, Cecil and Jamie moved to Fort Worth where she reconnected with Bill Boyce (from school days) and they married in 1973.

Bill brought her into the world of camping, hunting, and garage selling, learning a whole new skill set with him. She suffered a stroke in 2001 which slowed her down some but not much. She was still able to care for Bill until his death in 2006.

Celia and Cecil moved in together in, continuing with their shenanigans. They had already taken several cruises and took two trips with Jamie to South Dakota and the northeast. Celia was Cecil’s caregiver until the decision was made to move her to Bedford Estates in February of this year.

Cecil was a member of Riverside Church of Christ growing up and upon moving back to Fort Worth in 1971, became a member of Midtown Church of Christ and then Heritage Church of Christ. Wherever the family lived, one of the first things done was to find a church family and get involved.

Cecil loved life. She was always up for an adventure. She enjoyed going out to eat after church and doctor’s appointments. Her favorite was Mexican Inn. In her younger days, she was a painter and an avid golfer and bowler, winning several trophies with the Officer Wives clubs. After her stroke, she enjoyed working on her photo albums. She titled every one of them, ranging from “worst president ever” to “Family weddings that didn’t take” (volumes one and two). She didn’t want to throw away any pictures!

She was preceded in death by her parents, all her siblings and two husbands, Jim Nesbitt and Bill Boyce.

She is survived by her daughters, Celia Jean Amadahy, NRH, and Jamie (Mark) Smith, Albuquerque, NM; Grandchildren: Patience Boyce (Michael) Hooks, Blue Boyce, Matthew (Aimee) Smith, Alana (Tyler) Vandiver and Luke (Hanna) Smith; Great-grandchildren: Thaxton Marr-Smith, Gracie and Wyatt Vandiver, Abby and Caroline Smith, and Brennan and Liam Hooks; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

Visitation will be held at 1:00 P.M., Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at Williams and Lucas Funeral Home followed by the funeral service at 2:00 P.M. in the Chapel with John Gann Officiating. Interment will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Fort Worth.