Obituary of Marva Elaine Simpson

SIMPSON, Marva Elaine, 97, of Pinellas Park, FL, passed away August 26, 2021. She was born in Detroit, MI on August 15, 1924, to Leonard and Olive Franke. She settled in the Tampa/St Petersburg area in the late 1970s.

She was preceded in death by her father and mother, as well as her husband, Daniel Thayne Simpson, sisters, Eileen Franke, and Marion Magnusson, granddaughter, Eilene Zalac Nielsen and grandsons James Bussard, and Nicholas Bussard.

Marva is survived by her three children, Diane Zalac of Highland, MI, Thomas Simpson of Hicksville, OH, and Linda Coe (Gary), of Holt, MI, grandchildren, Paul Zalac, Steven Bussard (Ashley), Rebecca Greene (Shawn), Scott Brooks (Amanda), Gregory Coe (Marcie), and Michael Coe (Lucrecia) as well as lots of great grandchildren and many wonderful friends.

Self-expression through art was her life, her very identity, from a very early age, until her death. Trained as a commercial artist; she worked as an illustrator for various news publications and department stores.  But her true love was creating artwork that ranged in size from miniature to murals. Her subjects ranged from portraits (both human and animal) to sea and landscapes and everything in between. Her works are in collections in Florida, Michigan, California, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina, Scotland, Germany, and England. She won many awards for her work in oils, pastel, colored pencil, and more. She inspired many others sharing her love of art by teaching.

A celebration of life will be held later in Pinellas Park, FL. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Pinellas Park Art Society, or to Suncoast Hospice of Pinellas Park.