Donna Mae Simonian

Donna Mae Simonian

April 23, 1928 - July 17, 2012

Donna Mae Simonian

April 23, 1928 - July 17, 2012

Obituary

Donna Mae Bauer Simonian, 84, of Huntington Beach, CA went home to be with her Lord Jesus Christ on Tuesday, July 17, 2012.

She was born to the late Eva and Edward Bauer in Culbertson, Nebraska on April 23, 1928. Growing up on the family farm and graduating from Culbertson High School in 1945, Donna was an avid fan of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. She moved to Los Angeles in the 1940’s and married Ashot Sam Simonian in 1953. Together they raised 8 children in Whittier then Montebello, CA prior to relocating to Orange County.

She was a beloved mother, grandmother and great grandmother and is preceded in death by her brother Harold Bauer and sister Jean Miller. Donna is survived by her husband Ashot Sam Simonian; brother Donn Bauer and 8 children: Linda Simonian, Cindy Simonian, Teri Robertson, Jeff Simonian, Steven Simonian, Sondra Colby, Connie Der Torossian and Craig Simonian, as well as 11 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. Donna was a loving, caring mother who enjoyed traveling, singing, playing the organ, and spending time with her family.

A celebration of her life will be held at Mariners Church in Irvine on Saturday, August 4th at 2:00 PM.

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29 responses to Donna Mae Simonian

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  1. Connie says:

    Lit a candle in memory of Donna Mae Simonian

  2. Connie says:

    One of the first people I had the privilege of meeting when we moved to Firvale
    in Montebello, was Donna. When I met her, I knew I’d found a very special
    friend. Only having one child several months after moving to that block, I was
    amazed at how Donna ran her household of 8 children with no stress. She had a
    calm about herself that I so admired.
    One of many fond memories, was dropping by her home, and being greeted by a big
    smile on her face saying, “Susan, come in and have a cup of tea with me”. She
    was never ruffled by anything being out of order, she just always welcomed me
    into her home, no matter what. As I’d walk towards the kitchen, there was the
    longest dining table I’d ever seen, usually with laundry piled high. She’d
    push aside a space for us to have our tea while we visited. She was never in a
    rush, or apologetic about the condition of the house with kids playing, doing
    projects, etc. It was a happy place for me to visit. Donna had her priorities
    in the right order. Her family came first, caring & loving each of them, &
    making sure there was lots of fun times. I remember the summers the family
    would stay at that beach house. What fun it was visiting her there & being with
    all of the kids. I remember that box by the door that had more shoes in it than
    I’d ever seen!!!
    Donna was a woman of grace, stability & had a loving spirit. She also had a
    great sense of humor, which I was drawn to, because we both thought life should
    be fun & found many things to laugh about often. I especially remember the time
    we went to Tooeys Restaurant, that had a drive up service with bell hops serving
    the food. They had the best hot fudge sundaes! This one time, I’d forgotten
    about the tray that was sitting in front of me & started to open the car door to
    get something, & the whole sundae fell on my lap all over my white shorts. We
    looked at each other & bursted out laughing so hard, that we ………well, you
    can guess the rest!!!
    I’m so glad that I was able to see her this past year a couple of times & share
    with her the wonderful memories I had of our times together in years past. She
    was the epitome of a lovely lady and a wonderful mentor to me, as I raised my
    own children.

    In the Bible, Proverbs 31:26,28 describes my dear friend, Donna.

    “When she speaks her words are wise,
    and kindness is the rule
    for everything she says.
    Her children shall rise up and call her blessed.”

    In the Bible it talks about the Lord preparing a place (He calls these places
    mansions) for those who love Him. I pray that mine will be close to hers.
    I know Donna loved the Lord. I look forward to seeing her again, “when I get
    there”!

    I carry all of your family in my heart & continue praying that the Lord will
    give you comfort during this difficult time.

    Love to all of you,
    Susan Schulz

  3. When I was a kid, I loved going to “The Simonians’ house.” By comparison, my house was dull. I loved my cousins and the busy, joyful goings on round the clock. I have wonderful memories of my sleepovers, some of the best memories of my childhood. Where Aunt Donna was concerned, I was just one of the pack. I remember she doctored the hole in my knee when my loving cousins sent me down a cliff on a piece of cardboard . . . for fun. And I thought she was the coolest because she never minded us staying awake way into the night giggling and carrying on. The cousins didn’t seem to need any sleep. They would have me up with the sun. Had my first soft boiled egg at Aunt Donna’s. I’d never seen so many boiled eggs in my life. Everyone sat around the table with a spoon and their own little egg holders — I guess this was before the Montebello house. I learned how to eat a soft boiled egg. I thought it was so fancy. Aunt Donna just seemed to breeze through the day, moving from meals to shuttle bus to laundry and back again. I remember piles of this and that at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for some passerby to grab a load on their way up. I have a picture in my head of all of us bouncing around the back of the station wagon and a really fun carnival at a Catholic church down the street. Can’t remember the name. It’s right on the tip of my tongue. I really enjoyed Aunt Donna as I got older. She reminded me so much of my mom, that same wry sense of humor, with perfect comedic timing. Eh! she’d say a lot. Around ’06, maybe, I was lucky enough to spend several days with her as she and I set off on an adventure in my motorhome headed down the coast from Oregon to SoCal. It was really a great time. Lots of potty breaks and sippy drinks and very long, leisurely meals, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself, as did she. We stopped all along the way and enjoyed the sights, and she never flustered at all when my radiator went out and we weren’t quite sure what to do until things just kind of fell into place as a Santa Claus looking mountain man crossed our path, fixed the radiator, showed us great hospitality and didn’t charge us a dime. It was really special. He and Aunt Donna were great comedic dualing partners. Lots of laughs. Somewhere along the way I pulled out my tape recorder and “interviewed” my aunt. It was great fun. She had a lot to say. I wish I had seen her more these past few years but she knew how much I loved her. She was one of a kind, did an amazing job raising amazing human beings and taking life in stride. She knew how to enjoy the little things. A lesson for us all. I will miss you, Aunt Donna. Love, Monica

  4. Lit a candle in memory of Donna Mae Simonian

  5. Dearest Cousins,

    Since I learned of your mom’s passing I have pondered the best and most appropriate way to express my thoughts and feelings to you all. Although email may not be as personal as I would like, please know that it comes with no less love and compassion. Words in any form cannot convey how sorry I am for the passing of your mother. Even though her health had been failing for some time, the finality and void isn’t any less and I am truly sorry; I hope you take comfort in knowing that she lives in all of you. At your dad’s birthday celebration I saw your mom so different from the last time I saw her, but then I saw in her children all the love, strength, intelligence, class, and humor I have known your mother to have.

    I have always admired your mother’s spirit as she was always steadfast and strong with an underlying toughness that far exceeded her stature. She was “Nebraska farm tough” but carried herself with a certain class and sophistication. She was gracious but wouldn’t take any crap from anyone and I had a great deal of respect for that. I don’t recall if I told you this story before, but it is one of my fondest memories of your mother:

    It was sometime during the late 80’s that she was over our house in Norwalk for a visit. At that time, I was big into weight training and thought I was in great shape, in fact I think I had just gotten back from the gym when your mom asks me “Scott, do you know how to do a real push up?” Puzzled by the question, I kind of laughed and said “of course I know how to do push ups”. She then says “real push ups, like they do in the military”. Then she says “would you like me to show you?” Again with a chuckle I said “yeah why don’t YOU show ME how to do push ups.” Then completely catching me off guard, she gets down on the floor and all the while stating the proper form for “real” push ups. “Make sure your back is straight, then your hands need to be in close to your chest with your elbows pointing backward, and keep your head up with your eyes forward.” Then she counted off about 20 push ups. Feeling challenged and determined to put this little woman in her place, I assumed the position and quickly realized I was in trouble. I had no idea that the position of my elbows and head would be so much more difficult and I was instantly humbled. Conveniently, I don’t recall how many I did or didn’t do, but all I know is that she made it look a lot easier than it was. She and my mom went on their merry way and I committed to doing push ups the rest of my life. Know that every time I do push ups, your mother is in my thoughts.

    On another day, I remember your mother asking me if I knew how to count back change (I felt another lesson coming on). Again, I replied “sure, I think so”. She went on to tell me that she had just purchased something and the young person behind the counter just handed her the change. Your mother than tells me how she proceeded to give this poor kid a lesson in properly counting out change, right there in the store. Oh that poor kid, but what a great lesson. Now, every time I get change I think of your mom. So, between push ups and change, I think about your mother A LOT.

    I wish you all strength, love and peace during this difficult time but I hope you take comfort in knowing that your mother’s spirit is alive and strong!

    With Love,

    Scott

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