Marie Simmons, 93, of Wessington Springs died Thursday morning, Aug.  29, 2013 at the Parkview Care Center in Bryant.
Mass of Christian Burial was held at 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 2, 2013 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wessington Springs with Fr. Jim Friedrich officiating. Burial was in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Crow Lake. Visitation was Sunday  at the church with a scripture service with Msgr. Edwin Burian officiating.
Marie Lillian Petrosky Simmons was born July 10, 1920 in Crow Lake to James and Mary Petrosky. She spent her childhood in the Crow Lake area and graduated from Wessington Springs High School in 1938. She married Cecil Simmons on March 7, 1940. To this union, nine children were born.
Marie enjoyed the company and visits from all of her grandchildren. Marie was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and her cooking was enjoyed by all. She always had fresh baked bread for her children after school. She also loved embroidery, creating many pieces given to family members and fundraisers, making great puzzle masterpieces and later in life writing poems and short stories. She worked faithfully with St. Joseph Altar Society and the church she loved. She was a loving, compassionate example for all of us.
Throughout her life she worked as a cook at the John Gehan ranch, where she met her husband, a nurse aide at Jerauld County Hospital, clerk at Coast to Coast, and a teacher’s aide at Wessington Springs Elementary School.
Marie and her husband, Cecil, enjoyed traveling to visit family and friends all over the country. They also traveled to Germany and Italy with Barbara and were privileged to have an audience with Pope Paul VI.
She is survived by her nine children, Margaret (Tom) Mettler, Hackensack, Minn., Cecile (Fred) Knight, Wessington Springs,  Grace Dwyer, Tea, David (Mary) Simmons, Colorado Springs, Colo., Rita (Dennis) Feistner, Woonsocket, Clara (Ken) Roerig, Webster, Barbara (Terry) Millard, Great Bend, Kan., Michael (Karon) Simmons, Cooledge, Ariz., Patrick (Angele) Simmons, Rapid City; 32 grandchildren; 73 great-grandchildren; eight great-great-grandchildren and some very special nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Cecil; her parents, James and Mary; two sisters, Rose and Lillian; two brothers, Richard and Frederick; and one son-in-law, Jack Dwyer.