Mary Louise (Carpenter) Simmering, born February 20, 1929, in Davenport, Oklahoma, grew up in rural Oklahoma communities before graduating from Garber, OK High School in 1946. Upon graduating from Central State University in Edmond, OK, she worked at the YWCA in Oklahoma City.
In 1952, she married her high school sweetheart, James Virgil Simmering. Following his graduation from medical school, they moved to Fort Knox, Kentucky as part of the U.S. Army Medical Corps. Mary Lou, Virgil, and their three children then settled in Wynnewood, OK and moved to Norman, OK in 1965, where she lived until 2012.
Mary Lou was a talented seamstress, knitter, cook, baker, avid golfer, pianist, and master bridge player. She loved spending time in Colorado and indulging her six grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by two sisters, one brother, one son, her husband of 60 years, and her great-granddaughter.
She is survived by her daughter, Nancy Millham (Steve); son, John Simmering (Molly Gilmore); six grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
She passed away peacefully on September 28, 2022, at Schowalter Villa in Hesston.