On February 22nd, 2026, Charles "Chuck" N. Simmons Jr. passed away after a prolonged illness. He had the people he loved by his side every step of the way and met every moment of his final journey with the strength that he carried with him his entire life.

Chuck was born in Virginia and lived there as a child and later settled in North Carolina. Later in life, he relocated to New Hampshire and then Massachusetts. He made friends every single step of the way and was known by many for his witty humor and the endless kindness he showed others. Nobody who met Chuck was a stranger to him for very long. He loved to tell stories about the people he always considered himself lucky to have met.

People who knew Chuck knew him as a Renaissance man who was both a talented engineer and guitarist and many other things in between. Chuck was an endless fountain of knowledge and always delighted in the act of learning itself. Whether it was a whole new genre of music that just hit the scene, a discovery somewhere in the depths of space, or the history of Porsche engine development, Chuck could give you a rundown about whatever new thing he had learned about with contagious enthusiasm. Computers especially were always a major passion of Chuck's and he was often his happiest tinkering with them while listening to his favorite music. There is no way to separate his love of art and his love of science, because he was always quick to remind you that art and science are one and the same, and both make the world run as beautifully as it does.

Above all else, Chuck excelled in making those around him feel loved. He never turned a person away in their time of need and was outstandingly generous in every conceivable way. Those lucky enough to know Chuck never doubted that he was in their corner. Loyalty and the ability to show up for people he cared for mattered to him a great deal. He had the power of making every person in a room feel as if they were seen and every conversation felt as if it was one-on-one even in a crowd. Chuck was a source of shining light and he made sure that nobody around him was ever stuck in the dark.

Chuck is survived by his wife Marianne Cunha Simmons, his son William and his husband Clayton, and his bonus daughters Anna and her partner Gabby, Angie and her partner Lizzie, and Amy and her husband Josias. He is preceded in death by his father, Dr. Charles N. Simmons Sr., his mother Allison Simmons (née Cantley) and his wife Serena Simmons (née Parris).

Visitation will be held Friday March 6 from 6:30-8:30 PM in the Collins Funeral Home, 378 Lincoln Street, Marlborough.  All are invited to sign Chuck's online guestbook at collinsfuneral.com.