ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 12, 1996 TAG: 9605130024
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-10 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: TRACY LEE GALLIMORE STAFF WRITER
"I have never known someone who is so compassionate and kind," wrote Christine Marty Giles of her mother, Simone Marty Devereux.
Giles nominated her mother for the annual Mother of the Year contest sponsored by Credit Marketing and Management Association of Roanoke.
Devereux, the widow of Robert Devereux, moved to Blacksburg from Roanoke in 1985 when they married. She retired from nursing in 1995 because of a heart condition.
Simone Marty Devereux was born in France in 1934 and came to this country as an exchange student when she was 21. She devoted the next two decades of her life to caring for her husband and children.
When Devereux's 20-year marriage ended in 1967, she found herself facing a number of challenges: She had never driven a car, a language barrier sometimes interfered with communication and she had no family in this country to turn to for help.
Determined to survive, Devereux, then living in Roanoke, refused to allow the challenges to become roadblocks to her future, her daughter said. With only public transportation to get to work and school, Devereux held part-time jobs, tutored French and pursued her education.
In 1977, she graduated with honors from Virginia Western Community College's nursing program as a registered nurse and worked in several area hospitals and nursing homes.
Hilda Burnette, assistant director of nursing at Columbia Montgomery Regional Hospital, remembers Devereux as "a very caring and dedicated person."
"Simone cared not just for her patients, but for the people around her," Burnette said. "And her children were always a big part of her life."
Devereux has frequently cared for friends and neighbors. Giles recalls a neighbor, five months pregnant with her third child, who needed help. Devereux cared for the family while her friend remained in bed as the doctor had ordered. She has often cared for neighbors and friends who were victims of cancer and stroke.
Giles remembers Saturday bus rides with her mother to Crossroads Mall or downtown Roanoke to shop for clothes for a special occasion. "Mother would take us to Mimi's and buy us the very best. Then she would go to a department store and buy only the bare necessities for herself."
Devereux's children, with the exception of her son, Gerard, live in or near their home state. Jocelyne Marty Edwards lives in Richmond, and Michelle Marty Viers lives in Washington, D.C. Both are registered nurses. Christine Marty Giles is an administrative assistant at First Union Corp. in Roanoke. Catherine Marty, born with Down syndrome, lives with her mother in Blacksburg and works at New River Valley Workshop. Gerard Marty, a surgeon, lives in Barrington, Ill. Alain Marty completed his associate's degree in art and manages a small farm in Giles County. David Dilcher is working on his associate degree at New River Community College. Devereux has six grandchildren.
The marketing association has sponsored the contest since 1955, naming mothers in six categories: education, family life, religious activities, arts and sciences, business and professions, community affairs. Devereux won the arts and sciences category.
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: SIMONE MARTY DEVEREUX\1996 Mother of yearby CNB