EAST BERNE — Beverly Simmons liked to think of herself as a “tough broad,” her family said, and, in her last years, she needed to be.

Following a long illness, Beverly (née Kelsch) Simmons died peacefully on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. She was 60.

She was born in Albany, but lived most of her life “on the Hill,” her family wrote in a tribute. One of nine children, she grew up in Knox and graduated from Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School.

She worked for State Photo, as a photo processor; for Cowan & Lobel as a baker; and for the Guilderland Central School District as a high school monitor.

“She loved to cook, to have barbecues and picnics, and to have friends over for beer and bull sessions,” her family wrote.

Her husband Harry (Butch) Simmons died before her, as did her parents, Marvin and Alice Kelsch, and her brother, Frank Kelsch.

She is survived by their daughter, Kelcii Simmons, and Brendon Orvitt; by her brothers, Skip Kelsch and his wife, Sandy, and Thomas Kelsch; by her sisters Noreen Jorgensen and her husband, Peter, Eva Lounsbury and her husband, Terry, Kathy Bishop and her husband, Bill, Carolyn Kelsch, and Elizabeth Dunston and her husband, Kalmon; and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at Fredendall Funeral Home at 199 Main St. in Altamont on Friday, Aug. 15, at 7 p.m. Calling hours are from 5 to 7 p.m. Online condolences may be made at fredendallfuneralhome.com.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Hilltowns Community Resource Center, Post Office Box 147, Westerlo, NY 12193