Alicia Dione Poe

Alicia Dione Poe, age 49, passed away unexpectedly on June 8, 2021. She was born in Durham on February 2, 1972, to Andrea Hall and the late Lacy “Buck” Poe, Jr.

Alicia was an exuberant free spirit with a huge heart. She had a particular passion for animals and animal rescue. Over the years, she rescued many cats, dogs, birds, and all sorts of wildlife. Even large, scary spiders were quickly rushed to safety in her caring and capable hands. In recent years, she shared her life with 13 cats, a dog, a rooster, a squirrel, and all the wildlife that frequented her property.

She had a gift of instantly connecting with people, even if they were complete strangers. Her caring, motherly, unassuming demeanor, coupled with her deep green eyes and beautiful face, made people feel comfortable enough with her to spill their life story during their first conversation. She would have made a great therapist or salesperson, according to her life partner of 26 years, John Simonetti.

Her love knew no bounds and that was most apparent in the way that she made sure to always keep in constant contact with her family and friends; be it through epic individual or group texts, social media, marathon phone calls, or just making time to hang out and chat, no matter what she herself was going through.

Alicia was fiercely proud of her daughters, Aiyana and Lotus, and always gave them the space to follow their own paths. Theirs were not your usual mother-daughter relationships; they were also loyal friends and mischief makers, and bonded over a shared love of animals, colorful cosmetics, and yummy vegan food. They will no doubt be her legacy of uniqueness and her want for all to be able to be true to themselves.

She and John worked long hours together for a thriving hardwood flooring business that they built together. If you were a customer with an animal family member you could be sure that they would get cuddles and that their comfort was an important part of her job. John also relied on her to make customers comfortable because of her gift of connecting with people just as easily as she did with animals.

Alicia was the human embodiment of glitter and spread sparkles and smiles wherever she tread. She will be remembered for her gut-busting sense of humor, her love of strong coffee, her commitment to veganism and love for all creatures, and the way she made this world so much more loving and kinder. She may have only stood 4 feet, 91/2 inches tall, but she was a giant personality.

Alicia is survived by her life partner, John Simonetti, her daughters, Aiyana Simonetti-Poe and Lotus Simonetti-Poe, her mother, Andrea Hall and stepfather, Ricky Hall, her sisters, Amy Poe and her husband, Rodney Draughn and Jamie Poe and her partner, Jeff Adams, her nieces and nephews, Zane Clifton, Zoe Adams-Poe, Chloe Adams-Poe, and Benjamin Adams-Poe, her aunt, Michele Yeatts and uncle, Allen Yeatts, and her cousins, Brandy Strausbaugh, Kristin Dickerson, Meagan Long, and Alaina Weaver.
She was preceded in death by her father, Lacy “Buck” Poe, Jr., her uncle, Jimmy Morgan, her paternal grandparents, Lacy Poe and Dorothy “Dot” Morgan, and her maternal grandparents, J.T. and Margie Garrett.

Details for a celebration of Alicia’s life will be released at a later time.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Independent Animal Rescue, LGBTQ Center of Durham, or Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge.

The Poe family is under the care of Hall-Wynne Funeral Service.