Terry Allen Simmons was born 12 April 1946 in Butte, California to parents Daniel F. Simmons and Jeanne Marlow. He had one twin brother, Gary, and a sister, Deborah. After growing up in Yuba City, Simmons earned his undergraduate degree in Anthropology in 1968 as one of the first graduates of the University of California, Santa Cruz. He then moved for his graduate studies at the Geography Department of Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., earning his Master of Arts in Geography in 1974. Afterwards, under the supervision of the humanistic geographer Yi-Fu Tuan, Simmons wrote a doctoral thesis at the University of Minnesota and in 1979 was awarded a PhD in Geography. While studying for these degrees, Simmons worked as a teaching assistant and lecturer of geography at various programs, including Simon Fraser University, the University of Minnesota, Lakehead University, and the University College of the Fraser Valley. In 1989, Simmons graduated from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1988 and 1989, Simmons worked as a law clerk in the Land and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco and as a staff member for the Alaska Supreme Court in Anchorage, Alaska. Afterwards, he worked in Reno, Nevada both as an environmental and natural resources policy consultant and as an attorney practicing primarily in the areas of environmental, natural resources, water, land use, real estate, and business law. Simmons also became a Nevada Supreme Court Settlement judge, mediating appellate cases and actively arbitrating in Nevada trial level courts. After completing his academic degrees, Simmons continued his education by attending short courses and seminars focusing on cultural resource management, hazardous materials handling, and civil mediation. He also regularly taught courses and seminars in natural resources law, civil and criminal prosecution of environmental crimes, and similar topics.

Throughout his life, Simmons was highly involved in environmental activism. The summer of 1968, Simmons spent the summer as a research assistant in the national office of Sierra Club in San Francisco. After moving that fall to Vancouver to undertake graduate studies in the Geography Department of Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., Simmons was struck by the lack of similar environmental groups in B.C. He contacted local Sierra Club Bulletin subscribers and convened a meeting that led to the incorporation of the Serra Club of B.C. (SCBC). In fall 1969, Simmons was elected the first chairman of SCBC, as well as vice-president of the newly-formed B.C. Environmental Council. At SCBC’s first meeting, two of the one hundred members that signed up for the organization were Jim Bohlen and Irving Stowe, who alongside Paul Cote would later become recognized as co-founders of Greenpeace. In 1971, Simmons sailed as one of twelve crewmembers on the boat known as “Greenpeace” for its voyage from Vancouver, B.C. to Amchitcka, Alaska to protest U.S. nuclear tests. Then 25 years old, Simmons acted as the group’s geographer and legal advisor. This trip is now understood as the founding event of the environmental organization Greenpeace. Simmons did not remain actively involved in Greenpeace after this trip, instead taking part in other environmental activism efforts. In 1970, he acted as the Secretary of the Run Out Skagit Spoilers (ROSS) Committee that fought against Seattle City Light’s proposal to raise the Ross Dam by 125 feet. After leaving the role of Secretary, Simmons continued his involvement in ROSS as a member. In 1972, Simmons participated in an anti-war protest in Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota. Charged with aggravated assault against a police officer and rioting, Simmons received a one-year probation. In 1973, Simmons was interviewed as the SCBC vice-chairman on Alaskan pipeline construction activity and later appeared at a hearing of the BC Energy Commission to cross-examine statements made on behalf of the Canadian Petroleum Association. Simmons was appointed as one of six directors to the Forest Research Council of B.C. in 1981 and was a founding member of the Forest History Association of British Columbia in 1982. Simmons stayed an active member in the Forest History Association of British Columbia, serving as director at the time of his passing in fall 2020.

In addition to his involvement in various environmental efforts, Simmons was also Treasurer of the Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy Society, an advisory board member of the Berkely Canadian Studies Program, and an active member of the Vancouver St. John’s Anglican Church Learner’s Exchange. Simmons passed away in Vancouver on November 14, 2020.