Fifty-five years ago today, Dr. Lee Simmons came to Omaha from the Columbus (Ohio) Municipal Zoo to become the fledgling Henry Doorly Zoo's first resident veterinarian.
Four years later, he was king of the jungle when he became the zoo director.
When Doc Simmons, a native Arizonan, arrived as veterinarian, the zoo had just 10 full-time employees. Under Simmons’ leadership, the zoo evolved from a bleak Midwestern menagerie into a globally acclaimed collection of animals and exhibits seen by more than 2 million visitors annually and now known as the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium. Many of the insects, plants and creatures inhabiting the jungles, deserts, savannas, waters and islands at the zoo dwell in a realm that Simmons created.
Dr. Lee Simmons, former director of the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium.
The opening of the $15 million Lied Jungle in 1992 vaulted the zoo into the ranks of the nation's best. The 1.5-acre indoor tropical rain forest features the jungle habitats of Asia, Africa, South America and Australia.
From the time Simmons became zoo director in 1970 until his retirement in 2009, improvements under his leadership, in addition to the Lied Jungle, included the building of cat and giraffe complexes, an aviary, a bear canyon and, in the 1990s, the Scott Aquarium. Those attractions were followed by, among others, the Lozier Imax Theater (now called the Lozier Giant Screen Theater), the Desert Dome and, in the year he retired, the Skyfari aerial tram.
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Upon retirement, Simmons became chairman of the Omaha Zoo Foundation's board of directors — raising dollars to turn his daydreams into reality. He remains as a board member.
In a previous World-Herald interview, Walter Scott Jr., then-chairman of the Omaha zoo's board, described the zoo before Simmons took over.
"It was a miserable place," said Scott, who died in September 2021. "Everything you see out there is because of what Lee has done. I think Lee has done an outstanding job."
For more than 50 years, Simmons and his wife, Marie, lived south of 102nd Street and West Center Road in a house that he says once was “Zoo Annex West for babies.”
“I can remember when the nursery was my living room. My daughter, an orangutan and a gorilla were all in diapers and on a bottle at the same time,” Simmons said.
Photos: Omaha zoo visionary Dr. Lee Simmons through the years
Gail Yanney and Dr. Lee Simmons have their hands full with a python during the Zoofari VII Fundraiser at the Henry Doorly Zoo on Sept. 11, 1989.
Lee Simmons and wife Marie pose for a portrait with a baby gorilla at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha on Sept. 24, 2009. The gorilla had suffered a broken left arm in August and needed special care for recovery.
Coffee in hand, Dr. Lee Simmons feeds a giraffe during a behind-the-scenes tour of the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium that would typically be given to donors or potential donors. Simmons, the zoo’s former longtime director, served as chairman of the Omaha Zoo Foundation, which raised $205 million in his first seven years in the role. In December 2016, Simmons celebrated his 50th anniversary at the zoo, where he remained a cornerstone. Simmons also remains a member of the Zoo Foundation board.
Dr. Lee Simmons with a cheetah in 1970, the year he was named zoo director. Simmons started at the zoo as a vet on Dec. 1, 1966.
Cindy Bay, zoo membership drive chairman, with Lee Simmons and a Hyacinth macaw in 1998.
Dr. Lee Simmons at the Scott Aquarium in 1999.
Former Henry Doorly Zoo Director Dr. Lee Simmons in June 2013.
The pre-opening party of the Scott Aquarium at the Omaha zoo in March 1995. From left: Suzanne Scott, John Boyer, Walter Scott Jr. and Dr. Lee Simmons.
Lee Simmons III, 9, and an unnamed baby gorilla console each other during a bout of chicken pox in 1971. The baby gorilla was kept at zoo Director Lee Simmons' home after coming down with the childhood disease. Simmons' children both had it, too.
Dr. Lee Simmons and workers unload a crate holding one of the new tigers brought into the Omaha zoo for the white tiger breeding program in August 1978.
Dr. Lee Simmons, former director of the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium.
Dr. Lee Simmons, director of the Henry Doorly Zoo, guides Tiny, a tranquilized Indian rhinoceros, into a heated truck in February 1975. Tiny was on his way to Iowa State University veterinary hospital for surgery to remove an intestinal obstruction.
A giant sea fan and coral for the zoo aquarium capture the attention of membership chairmen, from left, John Gottschalk, Mrs. James Quinlan, Mrs. Gary Thompson and Lee Simmons in February 1984.
Dr. Lee Simmons looks over the pachyderm enclosure at the Omaha zoo in November 1968.
Dr. Lee Simmons demonstrates the "escape" door in the new elephant house at the Omaha zoo in November 1968.
Dr. Lee Simmons shows the strong tie-downs in the elephant house at the Henry Doorly Zoo in November 1968.
Zhou Wenzhong, China's ambassador to the United States, visited the Henry Doorly Zoo in June 2006. Here he crosses a rope bridge in the Lied Jungle with Dr. Lee Simmons and John Boyer, Zoological Association president.
Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium Director Lee Simmons, left, with his replacement, Dennis Pate, the executive director of the Jacksonville (Florida) Zoo in January 2009. The pair toured the Lied Jungle.
Dr. Lee Simmons in the Scott Aquarium exhibit at the Henry Doorly Zoo on Jan. 14, 2009, shortly before announcing his retirement.
In this October 2003 photo, Dr. Lee Simmons checks out the mountain lion at the Henry Doorly Zoo that he tranquilized in west Omaha, where it was found wandering around. A police officer shot it with a shotgun in its back leg when it charged him.
Zoo Director Dr. Lee Simmons in the Lied Jungle in 1991.
Walter Scott Jr. and his wife, Suzanne, talk to Dr. Lee Simmons, left, about progress at the Scott Aquarium at the Henry Doorly Zoo in November 1994.
Dr. Lee Simmons shows off one of the Omaha zoo's new flamingos in April 1981. A truckload of orphaned animals arrived at the zoo on March 25 due to financial problems that led to the demise of a small city zoo in Muscatine, Iowa. Six African flamingos had been ordered from Cleveland by Simmons. The truck delivering them stopped in Muscatine and picked up two Bengal tigers, three Chilean flamingos, a Cuban flamingo, two alligators, two caracaras and two turkey vultures.
Dr. Lee Simmons, director of the Henry Doorly Zoo, and Mrs. P.J. Morgan show off a baby orangutan during the kickoff of the zoo's 1978 membership drive at the New Tower Hotel Courts at 78th and Dodge Streets. Morgan was chairman of the woman's division of the drive. The campaign, to be conducted during March, sought public support to help pay off the mortgage on the newly completed cat complex. A new giraffe complex was being considered. Morgan said the zoo's $15 family memberships would increase to $18 on April 5.
Dr. Lee Simmons, left, and sculptor Patrick Bremer with a praying mantis sculpture. The big bug will be displayed with two other insect sculptures in the Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom Pavilion at the Henry Doorly Zoo. Bremer's sculptures (the mantis, a giant wasp and a dragonfly) are made of thousands of pieces of naturally colored wood, including teak, walnut, zebrawood, cherry and purple heartwood.
Dr. Lee Simmons and a new zoo directional sign, part of a $70,000 improvement project for the Henry Doorly Zoo in 1984.
It was an exchange of sorts on April 24, 1982, as hundreds of Brownies received a tour of the Omaha zoo and the zoo received a Stanley Crane. Brownies from the Great Plains Girl Scout Council donated to the Brownie Zoo Fund to help the zoo buy the South African crane. Here, zoo Director Dr. Lee Simmons shows members of the Offutt Air Force Base Brownie troop a similar crane already at the zoo. The Offutt troop submitted the winning name, "Choo Choo Crane."
Zookeeper Sarah Davis Junior, left, Dr. Lee Simmons and Dr. Armstrong examine a California sea lion in the Henry Doorly Zoo hospital in 1987.
Dr. Lee Simmons shows the Omaha zoo's new camera system to Bellevue students in May 1973. The system, donated by Lew Bailen of Riteway Television, enables zoo personal to monitor newborns and allows the public to view them.
Aksarben archbishop Kenny Glenn crowns King Lee Simmons during the Aksarben Coronation at the then-Qwest Center in Omaha on Oct. 10, 2009.
A wet roar is all 7-year-old Tanya Armstrong got from this lion. The lion is a drinking fountain donated to the Omaha zoo by Mutual of Omaha Jaycees. Helping Tanya on Oct. 28, 1972, are students from Bellevue’s Fort Crook Elementary. Also pictured are zoo Director Lee Simmons, left, and U.S. Rep. John Y. McCollister.
Dr. Lee Simmons in the Scott Aquarium with a pair of recently hatched penguins in January 2009.
“Sounds bad, looks bad,” says the original caption with this photo that ran Dec. 16, 1975. Henry Doorly Zoo Director Dr. Lee Simmons observes a 3-year-old camel wearing an orthopedic brace that Simmons fashioned for her after her neck was found out of joint. “Camels are very clumsy,” he said. “What we suspect is that she stumbled, landed on her nose and made an accordion out of her neck.”
