
Honoring Anthony Simmons
Donativo protegido
Note: This fundraiser is being organized by some of Anthony's close friends, Crystal Simmons (the mother of his daughter Chloe), & Anthony's family (including two of his brothers, Corey & Brice Wheeler, who are listed as organizers here). The goal of this fundraiser, as explained below, is to cover some of the heavy costs of working with a funeral home in Argentina & bringing Anthony back to the U.S. for a proper funeral. A 2nd fundraiser is being organized here to specifically support his daughter Chloe's needs (please feel free to support one or both!).
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Anthony Simmons was a good soul, and a solid and loyal friend. He was a loving father, son, and brother. He loved his family, especially his daughter, Chloe, and loved his dog Champ. Anyone that knew him knew his Yankees hats--he was an avid fan.
A few years ago he realized another love for the mountains, and dove in head first…finding his way to the top of 3 of the 7 highest peaks in the world:
- Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa
- Mt. Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe
- And Mt. Aconcagua was his third, the highest peak in the Americas (the picture at the very top of this fundraiser is Anthony in Argentina, signing "I love you," as he did in every picture he sent to his daughter, Chloe)
He was planning to do an ice training at Mt. Rainier this Summer to prepare for Mt. Denali, the highest peak in North America. Unfortunately, after ascending to the peak of Mt. Aconcagua on Wed., Feb. 8th, Anthony's life was cut short when he died on the way back down from altitude sickness.
His family and friends are coming together to try to raise funds for the funeral home in Argentina, and for repatriating him back to the U.S. to honor him back home with a funeral. A local funeral home is estimating those costs will be $10,000 or more. Anything you can give will help.
As a note, there are many articles that are incorrectly reporting who was involved, including having pictures labeled incorrectly as Anthony. This article explains some of why that misreporting happened and some of the story (the link goes to the English translation of an Spanish-language article). If you would also like to help correct the record and make sure Anthony's story is told well, please follow the directions in this spreadsheet to help contact the news organizations and ask for them to correct their stories.
Coorganizadores (4)
Brendan O'Connor
Organizador
Staunton, VA
Crystal Simmons
Beneficiario
Corey Wheeler
Coorganizador
Evan Pete Garr
Coorganizador