Algis Simonaitis

Algis Simonaitis, 87, of Hartford, CT beloved husband of Eleonora (Stankus) Simonaitis passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. Algis was born in Pilviškiai, Lithuania and in 1944 left with his parents, the late Ignas and Antosė (Kurauskas) Simonaitis, and younger brother Gintas, spending the next five years in a Displaced Persons Camp in Hanau, Germany before emigrating to the United States in 1949. After residing in New York City for a year, the family settled in Hartford, CT.

Algis attended Hartford High School, the University of Hartford and the State Technical Institute, serving in the National Guard between high school and college. He worked for the Town of West Hartford’s Traffic Engineering Department until his retirement in 1995. Algis was a long-time parishioner of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Hartford and an active member of the Hartford Lithuanian community.

Algis was particularly fond of cartography and geography, assembling a collection of maps from around the world and sand from tropical locales. He appreciated the opportunity to travel, particularly enjoying annual family vacations on Florida’s warm, sandy beaches or trips to Europe with Eleonora. Algis also had a love for arts and crafts, involving his children in engaging projects which were displayed prominently around their home. He was a lover of classical music–mornings were always met with gentle baroque pieces playing in the background–and attended live concerts when possible. One of his favorite places was the local library, where he taught his children the magic of the card catalog and enjoyed losing himself in the reference section. Algis loved to read and learn; the Internet served as a source of intellectual exploration for him, and he often shared his electronically-gleaned tidbits with his family.

Algis is survived by his wife of 62 years, Eleonora; his brother Gintas of Tampa, FL; three children, Linas of Lemont, IL, Milda of San Diego, CA and Rimas of Los Altos, CA; and four grandchildren, Arija, Petras, Sonata and Dainius.

Funeral service for Algis will be held Friday, August 2, 2024 at 11 am at Holy Trinity Parish, 53 Capitol Ave., Hartford, CT. Burial will be in Mt. St. Benedict Cemetery, Bloomfield. Relatives and friends may call at Holy Trinity Parish, Friday from 10 am to 11 am. The Dillon-Baxter Funeral Home, 1276 Berlin Tpke., Wethersfield, CT has charge of arrangements. To share a memory of Algis, please visit www.dillonbaxter.com