This obituary was originally published on Colvin Funeral Homes & Cremations.
A lover of nature and the beauty of the seasons, Mary was also mindful of the seasons of life with an appointed time for everything under the heavens, a time to be born and a time for our departure to eternal rest.
Mary Ellen Singleton Simmons was born on November 28, 1958 in Fayetteville, North Carolina to the late Arthur Lee Singleton and Carrie Bell Singleton.
She transitioned from labor to reward peacefully in her home on December 26, 2025.
Mary, affectionately called Sue by her family, spent most of her life in Newark, New Jersey. While in Newark, she was educated in the public school system and received a degree in business from Essex Business College. After college Mary was employed as a payroll specialist for a local business. She attended St. Stevens Baptist Church in Newark. Mary relocated to Fayetteville NC to become a caretaker for her uncle, and ended up reunited with a childhood friend from Newark, Wendell Simmons, who she later married on December 28, 2016. Mary loved her family and treasured the frequent visits back to Newark to visit her nieces and other family members. Having a deep and abiding love for nature, she enjoyed immensely all that God created. She loved listening to the waves of the ocean and just being outdoors listening to the melodious songs of the birds. She even had a host of pets including her cat Smokey, and 2 tortoises she found in her pond.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents Arthur Lee Singleton and Carrie Bell Singleton, her sister, Cynthia Singleton.
She leaves to cherish her loving memory, her devoted husband, Wendell Simmons; her brother Salim Ahmad, three sisters-in-law Catherine Fairley, Josie Francois, and Rosa Simmons; one brother-in-law, Ray Simmons; two nieces, Zenobia Singleton and Pia Thompson, great nieces and nephews Zy’Asia , Za’Kieyah, Za’Mijaey, Za’Morian, Zaila, Messiah, Zori, and Ka’Oire; and a host of other relatives and friends.