Mary Virginia Simmons

Funeral service for Mary Virginia Simmons will be held at 10:00 am on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at Blanchard - St. Denis Funeral Home in Natchitoches, LA with Rev. Wayne Morrow officiating. Interment will follow at Weaver Cemetery in Flora, LA. The family will receive friends from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm on March 13, 2012 at Blanchard - St. Denis Funeral Home in Natchitoches, LA. Mary Simmons, 84 years of age, passed away March 12, 2012. Mary was born August 25, 1927 to the late Josh Wilson and Pauline Strickland Wilson in Natchitoches, LA. She was a loving and caring wife, mother, and grandmother. She thoroughly enjoyed spending time and providing for her children. She volunteered as a Pink Lady at Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, where she would make crafts and provide care for the patients. She enjoyed sewing, and would make clothes and other items for her children. Mary lived a full life and will be dearly missed by her family and friends. Those left to cherish her memory are her two children, Donna Gayle Benavides of Spring, TX and husband Steve and W. H. 'Hank' Simmons III and wife Pam of Natchitoches, LA; her grandchildren, Brandon Wayne Simmons, Jason Wade Simmons, Kenny Adams, Rev. Kelly Adams, Jake Roberts, and Marisa Hamm; sixteen great grandchildren; three sisters, Isabell Ropelli and husband Joe of Natchitoches, LA, Willie Mae Smith and husband J. C. of Natchitoches, LA, and Alice Briley and husband Robert of Youngsville, LA; one brother, John Henry Wilson and wife Mary of Providence, RI; one sister-in-law, Ruth Woods of Hemphill, TX; and one brother-in-law, Charles Simmons of Hemphill, TX. She was preceded in death by her loving husband, W. H. 'Henry' Simmons, Jr; her parents, Josh Wilson and Pauline Strickland Wilson; and one brother, "Buck" Wilson. The family would like to extend their thanks to Natchitoches Nursing and Rehabilitation for all of their loving care and support during Mary's stay there.