Martha Ann Simmons

Martha Ann "Marti" Simmons, 60, of Greensburg, died peacefully Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, in UPMC Presbyterian, Pittsburgh. She was born July 10, 1952, in Newark, N.J., the only child of Martha L. Valenga and the late Michael F. Valenga. To those who knew her, Marti fought a long and difficult battle with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, a rare disease with no cure. She opened her home to all who needed a warm meal during the holidays and to her parents and grandmother-in-law, all to whom she gave the greatest of love and care. Despite struggling with her own health, Marti always made sure her friends and family were comfortable and happy and put the needs of her husband, children and mother ahead of her own, a testament to her selflessness and bravery. Her unique sense of humor and zany personality will be missed among all who were affected by her smile and quick wit. She was a member of St. James Catholic Church in New Alexandria and was also a member of the St. James Rosary Altar Society. Marti enjoyed participating in church activities and her dining room table was always filled with goodies for making gift baskets for special church events. She was preceded in death by her father, Michael F. Valenga. She is survived and will be sorely missed by her mother, Martha L. Valenga; her loving husband, Gordon D. Simmons; three daughters and sons-in-law, Marie and Ben Brown, Susan and Joseph Smith and Barbara and William Menhart; a son, David Simmons and his girlfriend, Nicole Foschia, whom she treated as her own daughter; four grandsons, Gavyn, Rylee and Jordyn Menhart and Joseph "J" Smith, and Nathaniel Palmer, whom she thought as her fifth grandson, and her sixth grandson "Baby Brown", expected March 2013. Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, 2012, in the P. DAVID NEWHOUSE FUNERAL HOME, 215 Church St., New Alexandria. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012, in St. James Catholic Church in New Alexandria with the The Very Rev. Larry J. Kulick, JCL, as celebrant. Interment will follow in Calvary Hill Cemetery. www.newhousefuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests donations be made to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. Information and donation information may be found at www.phassociation.org or checks can be made to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association in memory of Martha Ann Simmons: 801 Roeder Road, Suite 1000, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

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