Obituary of Mary Simms

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Simms, Mary: 88, Halifax NS, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2024 at the Admiral Long Term Care Centre, Dartmouth, NS. Born in Saint John, NB, she was a daughter of the late Catherine Hooper.    

Mary is survived by her children: Lynn, Andrew, David and Anne (Benjamin Vitale), and her grandchildren: Kieran, Katie, Barbara, Maeve, Julia, Fiona and Alice.  She is also survived by her brother, Walter Hooper, daughters-in-law, Katherine Patton and Lise Emond, as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, and her special friends, Michael and Suellen Bradfield.  Mary was predeceased by her cousin; Anne Myers (who was like a sister to her), her late husband, Lloyd Curtis and ex-husband, John Simms, two brothers, Gordon and Joseph, and sisters-in-law, Roxanne and Anne Marie “Sis”.

Mom grew up in Saint John and Redhead, New Brunswick. She graduated from Symonds High School with a commercial certification- secretarial. Throughout high school she worked at the Saint John City Market in a bakery. After a week of tasting everything, she could only stomach the plain white buns!  She began working as a secretary after high school. She considered moving to the “Boston States" to seek employment. However, she remained in Saint John after meeting her future husband, Lloyd Curtis. 

Although she could not stand Lloyd initially, the two married in the summer of 1959. Their daughter Lynn was born the following June. Sadly, while building their home in West Saint John, Lloyd was injured in a fall and later died. 

A widow with a child in the early 1960s, Mary began working at North American Life Insurance Company. There she met a young man named John Simms who made her laugh again. They were married in 1963. The pair moved to Ottawa and a son, Andrew, soon arrived. Homesick for The Maritimes, a return to the East Coast was on the horizon. Halifax was the next stop. When Andrew started elementary school, Mom returned to work with the Halifax School Board as a school secretary. 

In 1967, while most Canadians were heading to Expo67, we made the pilgrimage to the Simms Homeland of Fogo Island, Newfoundland. No Disney for us city kids! Andrew and Lynn spent two weeks terrorizing the laying hens, and it was quite a while until they began to lay again. 

David was the third child who arrived, which helped fill the new home on Walnut Street. Mom stayed home again and began to be more involved in community activities. She was a board member of the Atlantic Cooperative organization, a member of the wine circle (homemade), Ward 2 association community group and then came the New Democratic Party (NDP). She met and worked with many lifelong friends to better our world. 

Anne was the final piece of the puzzle and she completed our family. Finally, another girl!

Mom was a news junkie. We got to watch the news from 5 to 7pm each night on as many local channels as she could find. She followed politics closely and always espoused the cause of Social Democracy. With her friends Michael and Suellen Bradfield, and Patrick and Marion Keirans she became involved in the new Democratic Party of Canada. She worked tirelessly on political campaigns to support the cause of social justice in Canada, and in Nova Scotia, along with being active for women's rights and workers rights. 

John and Mary ended up divorcing in 1982 and Mary found stimulating jobs working for Dalhousie University in the Economics Department, the Classics Department and the Department of Surgery where she retired from in 2001.

The family home on Shirley Street became the gathering place for friends and Mary's door was always open with the teapot ready to serve up a cuppa.

The children grew up and began families of their own.  Seven grandchildren made Mary a very happy Grammy. Kieran, Katie, Barbara, Maeve, Julia, Fiona and Alice were all the light of her eyes. As they grew, she brought each of them to visit her in Nova Scotia. They all looked forward to the special visit alone with their Grammy.

She remained in her own home until the age of 85. Sadly, vascular dementia was not kind to her and she suffered with it in her final years. A warm and loving caregiver, Kyler Auguste, was a good friend to Mary in her last few years.

It was with the unwavering assistance from her first-born child, Lynn, that during her illness she lived with respect, safety and love. Lynn was a constant champion for Mary's health and quality of life. 

Her final home was the Admiral long-term care center in Dartmouth. She was cared for by kind and loving people.

Cremation has taken place and a Celebration of Mary’s life will be held on Monday October 28, 2024 at 11 am from the funeral home.  

If you wish to remember her, we ask that in lieu of flowers, to please support the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia www.alzheimer.ca/ns/en/donate or the Friends of The Public Gardens www.halifaxpublicgardens.ca/donate