Simone Bergeron McCarthy died on Friday, July 30. She was 78 and was a loving wife and mother.

She was born on Oct. 28, 1942, at Fort Jay on Governors Island in Manhattan to Valmore and Lorraine Meunier Bergeron while Val served in the Army. Val and Lorraine brought her to the Vineyard in 1946. In Oak Bluffs, they opened one of the first Volkswagen dealerships in America.

Simone grew up in Oak Bluffs and went to the elementary school there. She attended high school at The MacDuffie School for girls in Springfield, then earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree in education from Boston University. She taught for many years in Newton and then in Edgartown.

On August 12, 1967, Simone married Terry McCarthy and they moved to the Vineyard in 1970. Terry was elected state representative from Dukes County and was in Boston much of the time. Simone became the heart and soul of the family while he was away. She was the mother, father, disciplinarian and a loving guide to morals and work ethic.

She and Terry started Dockside Marketplace and Marina in 1980 in Oak Bluffs and ran it until 2013. During that time, she mentored many Island children who worked for the business.

Simone began painting as a way to spend time with her mother and found that she had an exceptional talent and passion for art. She went on to win awards and delighted friends with her extraordinary ceramic pieces.

She was also an avid music lover and known for her infectious smile and kind, compassionate spirit. One of her best attributes was her delicious sense of humor, which could often be bawdy.

In 1976, she contracted a case of Lyme disease that was left misdiagnosed for years. She raised a family despite suffering from this debilitating scourge. To ease her condition, the family began wintering in Naples, Fla. and came back to the Island in summers to run Dockside. Lyme disease continued to plague her, ultimately crossed the brain barrier, and eventually caused her death.

Simone is survived by her husband of 54 years Terry McCarthy; her children Gatia Kampmeyer and her husband Scott, Jin McCarthy and his wife Caroline, Jeremiah McCarthy and his wife Catherine, and David Perry; and her grandchildren, Patrick, Andrew, Meghan Kampmeyer, Kyle, Sean, Leah, Katie, Evren, and Gannon McCarthy. She was preceded in death by her parents.

A memorial service and mass will be held at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs on Terry and Simone’s anniversary, Thursday, August 12, at noon.

Donations can be sent to the Lyme Disease Association, Inc. P.O. Box 1438, Jackson, N.J. 08527.