Anne Marie Simpson

Ann Marie Simpson (nee Gentile), age 65, of Wayne, passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 8, 2022, from a long and heartbreaking battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. She was surrounded by her loving family.

Ann Marie was born in Brooklyn, NY, and one of five children to Mario and Marie Gentile. When Ann Marie was 12, her family moved from New York to Wayne, NJ.

She attended Wayne Valley High School, Class of 1975. She completed her BA degree in dental hygiene at Fairleigh Dickenson University.

Over the course of her dental hygiene career, Ann Marie was passionate about her patients, and loved her day-to-day interactions with them.

Ann Marie met the love of her life, Don Simpson, in high school. They dated from 1973-1974 but drifted apart. Nine years later, in 1982, Ann Marie decided to go dancing with some friends at Gaspers in Wayne. She reacquainted with Don, and they danced the night away. They were inseparable from there on. They married on October 22, 1983.

Ann Marie will be remembered for her magnetic personality. She was a shining star that lit up any room she entered. She will be cherished as a great wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend who will be greatly missed by those whose lives she touched along the way.

Ann Marie’s three daughters can attest to a house full of laughter and love. Tara, Danielle, and Andrea are lucky to have had a wonderful childhood where Ann Marie was fully invested in each of their passions, creativity, and education, but most importantly, she instilled a strong family bond for which they are so grateful.

Ann Marie loved to volunteer her time and spent countless hours arranging cultural enrichment programs for her three daughters during their elementary years in school.

The summer was Ann Marie’s favorite time of the year. She enjoyed opening her pool and hosting many gatherings throughout the summer. Ann Marie spent days gardening and preparing her backyard with beautiful flowers. Her backyard could have been photographed for a magazine.

Ann Marie was the loving wife of 39 years to Don Simpson. She was the devoted mother of Tara Parker and her husband Greg of Mandeville, LA, Danielle McGuire of Nutley, NJ, Andrea Simpson of Woodland Park, NJ. She was the cherished grandmother of Bethany, Grace, Emma Jane, Nathan, Benjamin, and Vivian. She was the most loving sister of Chris Doran and her husband Jim of Fort Mills, SC, Tom Gentile and his partner Ellen Oster of Cheshire, CT, Mary Jane Threlfall (beloved twin sister) and her husband Gary of Landing, NJ and Salvatore Gentile and his wife Arlene of Wayne, NJ. She was the much-loved aunt of many nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her parents, Mario Gentile (2020) and Marie Gentile (2017).

Those planning on an expression of sympathy in Ann Marie’s name are asked to consider:
Alzheimer’s Association
You can donate online at (www.alz.org)

St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital
Memorial Processing
501 St. Jude Place
Memphis TN 38105-9959
You can also donate online at (www.stjude.org)