Marie M. Venti, 96, of Southbury, formerly of Newtown, died February 12 at The Hearth in Southbury. She was the widow of Edward C. Venti. She was born November 6, 1919, in Brooklyn, N.Y., and was a daughter of the late Katherine (Ciaccio) and Joseph Marcellino. www.michaeljfox.org.Memorial contributions may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Grand Central Station, PO Box 4777, New York NY 10163-4777 or

A great lover of dogs, she and her husband operated Canine 21 Kennels in Newtown for many years.

She had been very active in the Ladies' Auxiliary of Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., and was an avid gardener. She was formerly of Sleepy Hollow and Heritage Village in Southbury.

She leaves her two loving daughters Linda Sims, and her husband J. Robert, Jr, of Basking Ridge, N.J., and Carol Schmidt, and her husband Ronald, of Southbury; four grandchildren, J. Robert Sims III of Fort Collins, Colo., David Sims of Albuquerque, N.M., Stephen Shull of Sandy Hook, and James Shull of New Fairfield; and four great-grandchildren. She also leaves additional nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the entire staff at The Hearth for the warm and caring atmosphere that created her home for the last decade.

All services are private. Arrangements by Carpino Funeral Home, Southbury.