Maryanne (Simcik) Thomas, 85, went into God's light on Nov. 3, 2019. A longtime resident of Metro Detroit, Maryanne had recently moved to the Grand Rapids area. Her passion was enjoying the arts from musical operas to visual arts. She had a great fondness for visiting the zoo and being with children. Her other interests included cooking, reading and gardening. She was preceded in death by her husband, Edward, and son, Michael. She is survived by her son, Mark, and daughter, Kimberly (Greg) VandenBerg; grandchildren, Jennifer (Ken) Horn, James VandenBerg MD, and Shannon VandenBerg. Maryanne had a heart of gold and loved every human and creature on earth unconditionally. We invite close family and friends to attend a celebration of her life from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Nov. 23, 2019, at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, 1000 E. Beltline NE. If possible, please RSVP with number of those planning to attend. Those wishing to offer expressions of sympathy are encouraged to give memorial contributions to the Detroit Zoological Society or Spectrum Hospice and Palliative Care.