Terry Allan Simmons

Terry Allan Simmons was a lawyer and cultural geographer whose career spanned both sides of the Canada - United States border. Born in Butte, California, he earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1968, a master's degree in geography from Simon Fraser University in 1974, a doctorate in cultural geography from the University of Minnesota, and a Juris Doctor from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley in 1989. He was called to the bar and practiced law in both California and Nevada. Early in his legal career he served as a law clerk at the Alaska Supreme Court and worked in the Land and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco.

In Nevada, Simmons built a practice in Reno concentrating on environmental law, alternative dispute resolution, and water and riparian rights. He served as a Nevada Supreme Court Settlement Judge, mediating appellate cases, and was an active arbitrator in Nevada district and trial-level courts. In 1996 he ran as a non-partisan candidate for a District 2 Court judgeship in Nevada.

Beyond his legal work, Simmons was a lifelong environmental advocate. He co-founded the British Columbia chapter of the Sierra Club in 1969 and was elected vice-president of the B.C. Environmental Council. As a young graduate student and the team's geographer and acting legal adviser, he was one of twelve crew members aboard the Phyllis Cormack when it sailed from Vancouver in September 1971 to protest U.S. nuclear testing at Amchitka Island - a voyage organized by the Don't Make a Wave Committee that is regarded as the origin of Greenpeace. He remained a dedicated volunteer for environmental and historical causes throughout his life, including service as a director of the Forest History Association of British Columbia. He died at his home in Vancouver on November 14, 2020, at the age of 74.