JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 The Jacksonville community and medical field are mourning the death of Dr. Charles Errington Simmons III, a pediatrician who spent decades caring for North Florida families and mentoring the next generation of healthcare professionals.<\/p>\n
Simmons, 74, died July 13. Those who knew him describe him as compassionate, patient, and deeply committed to the people he served.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a gentle soul but a giant in the community,\u201d said Dr. Christina Monford-McNish, a cosmetic and general dentist in Jacksonville who was once Simmons\u2019 patient \u2014 and later, his apprentice.<\/p>\n
From Patient to Professional<\/p>\n
Monford-McNish\u2019s connection to Dr. Simmons began in childhood, when he was her pediatrician. As a high school student, she landed a job at his office through a medical apprenticeship program he created for local students.<\/p>\n
The experience, she said, changed her life.<\/p>\n
Monford-McNish went on to graduate from Raines High School, Florida A&M University, and the University of Florida before building her career as a dentist in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n
\u201cCompassion,\u201d she said, when asked what word first came to mind thinking of Dr. Simmons. \u201cHe was such a compassionate physician. I can only hope that I can live up to that \u2014 the bedside manner, the patience.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Safe Space for the Community<\/p>\n
In his final years, Dr. Simmons practiced out of a Jacksonville office that became more than a medical practice. It was a place where the community \u2014 particularly Jacksonville\u2019s Black community \u2014 found trusted care and a welcoming environment.<\/p>\n
His first patients were the children of close friends. That circle grew to encompass the broader community, and with it, a reputation built on health excellence and integrity.<\/p>\n
\u2018You Want Him Taking Care of Your Children\u2019<\/p>\n
C. Ronald Belton, a longtime friend of Dr. Simmons, knew him since childhood \u2014 even as a Cub Scout. He spoke by phone about the qualities that defined Simmons from the very beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was very industrious \u2014 he always wanted to do things,\u201d Belton said. \u201cHe was a model person. You want him on your team. You want him taking care of your children. He was an outstanding young man.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Legacy That Lives On<\/p>\n
Monford-McNish said Dr. Simmons represents a standard she hopes others in medicine will strive to meet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can only hope that when we think about life \u2014 what is our purpose \u2014 I can only hope that I can leave that type of impact,\u201d she said. \u201cHe really did move with compassion, care, empathy. Those are the things that I walked away with. He was a real gentle soul.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Simmons\u2019 legacy continues through the patients he treated, the students he mentored, and a community that trusted him with its children.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 The Jacksonville community and medical field are mourning the death of Dr. Charles Errington Simmons…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-349415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}