Barry SIMONS

SIMONS, Barry


Sir Barry Simons, of Tolland, passed away March 1, 2013 at Hartford Hospital. Born August 18, 1927 in London, England, he was the son of the late Elkan and Sylvia Simons. He leaves his wife Susan, his stepchildren David Hoffman and his wife Erin Sullivan of Austin, TX and Rachel Hoffman and her husband Andrew Pirello of Warwick, RI and three grandchildren Ella, Milo, and Clarissa Hoffman of Austin, TX. Sir Barry was the ultimate storyteller - and ALL the stories were true. His life was filled with experiences and adventures most people only dream of. World War II broke out while he was a schoolboy in London and he experienced the infamous "blitz" by German bombings. At 16 he had seen enough and enlisted in the British Army after lying about his age - as he was only 16. In the Army he was trained as a sniper and in 1944 participated in the Market-Garden Operation landing by glider at Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Briefly captured by German forces, he escaped and continued with the invasion and conquest of Nazi Germany. He was with one of the first units to liberate the Belsen concentration camp. After the war he assisted in carrying out the judgment of military tribunals of German war criminals. He remained in Paris, France, working at a radio station broadcasting shows in French. Upon his return to London he rejoined his family's theatrical agency Elkin & Barry Simons LTD. His first appearance on stage was at the age of 10, and at 16 he was the youngest stage director at the theatre Royal. He is recognized as an authority on the history and traditions of English Pantomime plays. During the years that followed he explored many other creative avenues: conducting orchestras and choirs, performing in the circus as a trapeze artist and lion tamer, songwriting, and working as a free lance journalist and photographer. When life was dull he became a motor race car driver and a motor race commentator. After the unfortunate arson of the theatrical company's props, costumes, and scripts in 1969, Sir Barry became an underwriter at Lloyd's of London. During the 70's and 80's he was a police sergeant at Scotland Yard patrolling his home district of Hendon. His life changed completely on a Caribbean cruise in 1988, meeting a woman from Connecticut who was on vacation with her friends. After a week of cruising and getting to know each other Sue and Barry began a long distance romance between the USA and England resulting in their wedding August 12, 1990. While his wife continued teaching, Barry worked at an Information booth at Buckland Mall, and was a supervisor trainer at H.P. Koppleman. Sir Barry also became involved in area organizations such as the Rockville Bank advisory board, ECHN, volunteer Chaplin at Woodlake of Tolland and media and public relations for the New Britain and the Manchester Symphony's. He received the Knight of the Royal Order from the UK in 1988. He continued to be active in the Free Masons, being past Master of the Grand Lodge of London and current Chaplain of AF-AM69 Fayette Lodge of Ellington, CT.
A celebration of Barry's life will be held at 10:30 a.m., Sunday, March 3, 2013 at Samsel & Carmon Funeral Home, 419 Buckland Road, South Windsor. Shiva will be at 44 Glenn Drive, Tolland, CT Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Woodlake Wishes, Woodlake of Tolland, 26 Shenipsit Lake Rd., Tolland, CT 06084 or Temple Beth Hillel, 20 Baker Lane, South Windsor, CT 06074. For online condolences and guestbook, please visit carmonfuneralhome.com. And in Barry's words: "his life was a jolly good time!"