Barbara Lynn Simmons of Brackettville, Texas, passed away peacefully with family by her side, joining her beloved Neal, on March 20, 2024. She was born to parents Finis and O’Neil Langheld on December 6, 1941. Minden, Louisiana, was home throughout her childhood, spending it with her sisters, Bobbie and Sandra.
A chef at heart and in practice, Barbara fed many mouths and souls through her culinary gift. She picked up an international culinary flare via her travels throughout Southeast Asia and Europe while living abroad in her twenties and thirties. She opened many “Barbara’s” restaurants stretching from South Carolina to Texas, with the most recent being Barbara’s Table in Brackettville, Texas.
Barbara met the love of her life, Neal, in her later years. Married at 40, Neal adopted her son Caric Biles. They then expanded their family with a second son, Barkley Simmons. Neal both supported and shared in Barbara’s culinary gift with their Louisiana and Texas restaurants. Caric and Barkley both later joined their parents in the family’s Texas restaurants.
Never meeting a recipe she couldn’t put a personal touch to, Barbara also never met a room she couldn’t revamp and added an elegant and sophisticated country look to each home Neal remodeled for them. Every place they called home was made beautiful by Barbara’s personal design touch – the most recent being their historic late 1800’s rock building in the heart of Brackettville. They transformed the building from their former restaurant by remodeling it into a primary residence with the commercial kitchen remaining, along with Barbara’s passion and love for good food.
Barbara Simmons lived a full life, cooking up a storm for patrons well into her seventies. She was proud of her family and her and Neal’s hard work. She is survived by her sister, Sandra Chanler, and husband, Bert of Minden, her son Barkley Simmons, and daughter-in-law Amanda, of Brackettville, Texas, all of whom invite you to share your memories at her Celebration of Life to be held on the lawn at the Simmons residence in downtown Brackettville, 112 North Street, at 3:00 pm March 30, 2024.