JERRY SIMON

SIMON, Jerry Wayne Sr., born December 8, 1940, passed away in his home November 18, 2012, surrounded by his family. He was the most loving husband, father and grandfather. He bravely faced battles of several cancers for over five years. He was preceded in death by his father, Tom Simon; mother, Lucy Shephard; and sister, Diane Simon Moore. He is survived by his wife and soul mate of 34 years, Linda Hines Simon; his five children of whom he had great pride, Jerry Jr. (Kim), RT (Lillian), Joy Hazelgrove, Nicole Sawulski (Jeff) and Kenny (Kelley); his 10 grandchildren, Dylan and Kyle Simon, Thomas Polanko Simon, Brandon, Noah and Conner Hazelgrove, Cooper and Cade Sawulski and Penelope and Liam Simon; along with grandchild number 11 due in March 2013; his mother-in-law, Claire Hammond; a niece, Susan Ulrich; and nephew, Tommy Moore. Jerry was a master craftsman at building homes and his specialty was interior trim that no one could match. He was an extremely hard-working man who loved his family with all his heart. He loved being at the river at Jones Point Beach, partying, sitting on the beach with family and friends at night around the fire and those long occasional rides in his boat. In the last few years he and Linda had a permanent place in Beth Page Resort where they made many friends and enjoyed themselves immensely. He took his family to the mountains on camping trips, walking trails and learning about nature. Each year the family always went to the Outer Banks where he loved walking the beach looking for shells and tossing horse shoes in the sand. His lifelong passion was Civil War history and relic hunting. He read and studied many books and maps about this war and could discuss this piece of history with great knowledge. He greatly enjoyed NASCAR and always rooted for a Ford to win. Jerry had many friends whom he loved and they loved him. He had a sense of humor that would make his family and friends laugh and enjoy being with him. He will be missed each and every day by many and will be remembered by his family as the patriarch who taught them to enjoy life and all it had to offer. He no longer suffers and is now in his Father's soothing arms. A celebration and memorial of his life will be held at Poplar Springs Baptist Church, 5270 Charles City Rd., Henrico, Va. 23231, Saturday, November 24, at 2:30 p.m., followed by a reception in the church hall. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org, or Purple Heart, purpleheartpickup.org.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.