Newsday

They joined hundreds of other mourners who came to say goodbye to the man known as a brave firefighter, a loving husband and father, and a well-respected youth coach.

As the procession arrived, the Emerald Society's drums-and-bagpipes ensemble mournfully played "Amazing Grace." American flags hung from ladder trucks of Long Island volunteer departments.

Inside the church, his wife, Judi, sat in the front pew as her son Kevin, 10, leaned against her. Their other two sons, Joseph, 13, and Ryan, 8, also were by her side. A large photo of Simmons, and his FDNY helmet, were placed in front of the altar. The helmet was given to his wife and sons later.

Among the mourners were dozen of boys in sports jerseys - the children "Coach Marty" compassionately shepherded through the past few years.

"He encouraged us to keep going," said Marc Laurenti, 10, who was on Simmons' Smithtown youth football team. "He would say, 'Don't stop now Marc, keep going.'" Simmons also coached baseball, basketball and lacrosse.

Simmons drowned last week in Lake Tahoe trying to save Kevin, who was struggling while swimming. The boy was rescued by his uncle, Bill King, but Simmons could not be saved.

Simmons, 41, was a member of Ladder 111 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, one of the busiest in the city. At the service, Simmons' superior, Capt. Steven Berube, spoke directly to Simmons' children about their father's bravery and good character, and how they could follow in his footsteps.

"Give back and help other people," Berube told them. "Your dad was great at that."

Simmons' compassion extended to the families of firefighters who died on Sept. 11. Simmons served as emcee at the annual breakfast honoring the five who died from his station, Berube said.

King also spoke kindly of his brother-in-law, calling the firefighter's drowning in 10 feet of water a "horrifying ending to a perfect day." He read a letter by Judi Simmons, who promised her husband that she would take good care of their children and "hold you in my dreams every night."

Martin Simmons, who was a New York City police officer before joining the FDNY 17 years ago, met his wife at a traffic light. He stopped her car and joked with her that she had to give him her phone number or he was going to lock her up. His brother, Doug Simmons, called "that famous unauthorized stop" the beginning of their relationship.

Doug Simmons thanked the men and women of the FDNY, offering the family's thanks and prayers for them.

"We pray that God keeps you safe and watches over you each and every time that alarm bell rings."

His brother, he said, was "my hero."