Despite the fact that they are both experiencing the same level of pain, Dawn and Ray Simmons are mourning a heartbreaking loss of a family member in their own unique ways.
Kamryn Simmons, 15, Christopher Simmons, 17, and Lindy Simmons, 20, were all murdered in a head-on vehicle accident that occurred on December 17, 2021. The accident was caused by a motorist who was under the influence of alcohol. In addition, Dawn and Christopher’s girlfriend were in the car that was hit, but both of them managed to survive the catastrophe.
Following the passing of the Simmons family, Dawn and her daughter Katie DeRouen, who is 34 years old, have taken to social media in order to express their sorrow and to honor their children and siblings. A significant number of their TikToks include older recordings of Kamryn, Christopher, and Lindy, as well as more current footage of Dawn and DeRouen working on Simmons3, a non-profit organization that educates people about the risks associated with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
DeRouen provided a collection of films that demonstrated the many ways in which Ray lives his life on a day-to-day basis in response to a remark that inquired about the reason why Ray is seldom included in the internet material that the family headquartered in Louisiana creates.
We experience grief in a completely different way than he does. The act of getting out of bed and carrying on with his life is difficult for him. All of [our] lives were turned upside down as a result of this catastrophe,” DeRouen said in the description of her TikTok video, which has received more than 2.5 million likes on the platform.
At the beginning of the film, it was explained that Ray remained by his wife’s side throughout the whole time that she was recuperating in the hospital from the injuries that she had received in the vehicle accident. During the subsequent scene, he was seen affixing a brilliant ruby gem to the engraved picture of Lindy that was located on their joint headstone.
The explanation that DeRouen provided was in the form of an overlaying text: “He made sure that Lindy’s Kendra Scott necklace was perfectly in place and secured.”
The necklace was cited as an extremely moving representation of Ray’s sorrow in a significant number of the 26.6 million videos that were uploaded to the video.
According to what DeRouen shared with PEOPLE, the Kendra Scott item was an essential component of Lindy’s overall look. An additional one of DeRouen’s sisters was responsible for the design of the headstone, and it was included into her initial etching on the stone.
After that, the jewelry firm delivered the Simmons family the same red stone from their collection, and Ray was able to glue it onto Lindy’s grave by the time Lindy’s birthday rolled around the following year.
It was him who brought all of these material, including aircraft glue. According to DeRouen, “[He] has it on there perfectly and has something coated on it.” He expresses his affection in this manner.
Lindy’s films that she recorded while she was still alive were included in the TikTok that detailed Ray’s mourning journey. These videos all alluded to the trusting relationship that Lindy had with her father.
The video was narrated by Lindy, who said, “I [was] laying here without a blanket and I knew my dad was going to come bring me one and cover me.” One of the recordings showed him draping a quilt over Lindy.
A second video clip showed the devoted father carrying out a thorough inspection of the front end of a vehicle. In her letter, Lindy said, “One thing about Ray is that he is not going to let us leave until our car is one million percent.”
My father is not like other people… Undoubtedly, if I have a flat tire, I am aware of the fact that… I can get in touch with him about it,” DeRouen says to People. “I realised, just like Lindy did, that is his preferred method of expressing affection.”
Dawn notes that in addition to his usually unique “love language,” he has a far different approach to grieving the loss of their children than she does. However, her spouse tends to lean more toward his “homebody” attitude, despite the fact that she has benefitted from getting out of the house and participation in support groups.
The tiny workroom that he has in our house is one of his favorite things to do, and he also enjoys going to flea markets and yard sales. The way Dawn describes it, “He enjoys discovering things that are broken.” “He then takes them back to his house, where he repairs them. “He is able to take a look at something, simply observe how it functions, and then fix it.”
The fact that Ray has a “mind of an engineer” makes it even more difficult for him to deal with the absence of Kamryn, Christopher, and Lindy, Dawn says in an interview with People.
The phrase “I can’t fix this” is something that he tells me on a regular basis. Therefore, I believe that he is having a great deal of difficulty with that particular component, and I believe that it is just going to require some more time,” adds Dawn.
