Paul Simeone

On August 13, 2025, Paul Anthony Simeone - loving father, Papa, and devoted husband to his late wife Ginny - passed away peacefully at a family home in Bellport, NY. He was 83.

Paul was born in 1941 to Anthony Simeone and Helen Studer. The Studers hailed from Alsace, France, and the Simeones emigrated from Gaeta, Italy. The Simeones were forced to flee Italy in 1919 because Paul's grandfather was a vocal anti-fascist. Paul grew up in Somerville, and later Arlington, MA.

The 1940s were chaotic years for everyone, and young Paul was no exception. His Simeone uncles left to fight in WWII, and his beloved Uncle Chris was shot down over Austria and never came home. His mother ran off with another man, and no one explained where she went. He lived with his Nonna Simeone, who adored him, yet spoke to him only in Italian. He watched the trains come in from Boston Harbor at night, loaded with broken plane fragments retrieved from crashes in Europe. But what Paul remembered most from those years was a magical summer with Ginny and Joe O'Hanlon, an Irish couple in the neighborhood who didn't have children. They invited Paul into their extended family, brought him to the beach, and made him feel loved after his mom left.

Paul's father Tony remarried a few years later, and Paul was thrilled to welcome two brothers, Bob and John, to the family. Tony opened an Italian restaurant in Cambridge, MA - Simeone's - and Paul and his brothers grew up working there. Ginny Kenney, a college girl, worked part time in Simeone's, and fell in love with Paul, a pizza maker. She recognized his intelligence and encouraged him to go to college. Paul adored Ginny's spunk and smarts, and they eloped in November, 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis, honeymooned by driving cross-country in Paul's MG, and moved to NY where Paul studied Economics at Stony Brook University. While on Long Island, Paul learned to sail catboats on the Great South Bay.

They raised two children, Jill and Evan, in West Hartford, CT, and were in love and profoundly happy for almost 61 years.

Paul was deeply curious, yet never pedantic. He loved learning new things, trying new foods, and talking to people to hear their stories. His first job in CT was working on an experiment in banking called "the computer". Paul went on to design the first automated check processing programs for Hartford National Bank, and built a 30 year career as an early tech executive. In his 70s, after the iPhone came out, he patented technology to file insurance claims on the go. As a young man he collected broken cameras, fixed them, then taught himself photography, built a darkroom, and took beautiful award-winning photographs for the next five decades.

He loved roadtrips, and in the 1970s came home one summer evening with a VW bus to take the family on a cross country adventure. In the 1980s, he sold a couple of his old cameras and bought a sailboat. For the next 20 years, he and his family (and dogs) explored the islands of coastal New England. As he got older, he and Ginny summered at a cottage on the ocean in Stonington, CT. He loved fishing and hosting "Clamapalooza" seafood parties with his brothers. As he got older, he traded in his sailboat for vintage wooden motorboats, and won awards at Mystic Seaport for his restoration work.

Paul was an incredible father. He shared his curiosity for life with his children, taking the kids to the MoMA to see photography exhibits, writing elaborate murder mysteries for birthday parties, bringing home early computers and teaching them to code, and helping Evan make the best pinewood derby race car ever built. He always gave honest but kind advice, and through his example instilled in his children the values of integrity and honest work, the joy of making and appreciating art and craft, and a deep love for family.

A friend recently described Paul as "kind, gentle, smart, and profoundly generous," and it's true - although his life became more comfortable, he never forgot his humble origins, and empathized deeply with the struggles many face. He and Ginny had a modern marriage of equals. He gave generously to support progressive candidates, civil rights, and access to higher education. He helped build two separate scholarship programs - one at Trinity College in Hartford (where he received his Masters in Economics), and one at Arlington High School. Most recently, he donated his beautiful wooden launch, Grampy Gomes, to the Bellport Historic Vessel Preserve. He loved their mission of restoring and returning wooden boats to the Great South Bay, on the south shore of Long Island - where he'd learned to sail 60 years earlier.

Most of all, Paul loved his wife Ginny, and the extended family they shared. They had wonderful lifelong friends, and in their retirement traveled to see more of the world. Paul reconnected with his family in Alsace, and their warmth and love brought him enormous joy. As Ginny became ill, Paul took care of her, and they went out to lunch and on rides every day. After she passed away, Paul was devastated, and moved to NY to be with his children. He bought a summer cottage in East Patchogue, Long Island, and wintered in Brooklyn.

Not many people decide to embrace the adventure of moving to NYC at age 81, but Paul did. He explored brownstone Brooklyn, visiting the bagel shop, joining the Montauk Club, and eating sushi and BBQ with his grandchildren. He continued to read voraciously, watched every mystery the BBC ever produced, watched classic movies in the cinema, and attended the grandkids' school plays.

Last summer, a hundred years after his grandfather fled Mussolini's Italy, Paul and his extended family returned on a heritage trip. They visited Gaeta, and enjoyed a traditional family dinner in his father Tony's childhood home - now a restaurant. Life comes full circle.

Paul is survived by his daughter Jill Simeone (and husband Stephen Kitts), his son Evan Simeone (and wife Tamson Weston), his grandchildren Milo Weston Simeone, Arlo Simeone Kitts, and Stella Simeone Kitts, his beloved brothers Robert Simeone (and wife Gayle Oberg) and John Simeone (and wife Ann Marie Simeone), as well as many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a memorial donation to the Bellport Historic Vessel Preserve (bhvp.org) to support Paul's dream of returning wooden boats to the Great South Bay.

Paul's family will host a Memorial Celebration at noon on Sunday, October 5th at the historic Montauk Club in Brooklyn, NY, where Paul was a member. All who knew and loved Paul and his family are welcome.

Please RSVP to the Memorial at this link: https://tinyurl.com/bdfwe3bb