Charles "Chuck" Simon

Charles "Chuck" Ray Simon, born on March 30, 1936 in Plainview, Texas, passed away after a long full life of 89 years on October 1, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Chuck was the beloved husband of the late Mieko Simon, and he is survived by children Bill (Becky) of Naperville, IL; Kim (Russell) Stelmach of Pittsburgh, PA; and David (Justina) of Huntsville, AL. He is lovingly remembered by his five grandchildren; Robert, Chris (Shelby), Mike, Cameron, and Rowan, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife Mieko, daughter Michiyo (deceased 1964), parents William "Bill" Simon and Rosa Bell Hart Simon, sisters Phyllis Mathis and Geraldine "Jerry" Stringfellow.

The freckle-faced red-headed boy in blue jeans from the High Plains of Texas, spent summers riding horses at his Uncle's New Mexico ranch. During World War II he supported the war effort by pulling his wagon around the neighborhood to fill buckets with leftover fat to contribute to the American Fat Salvage Committee to make explosives. When he got a little older, teenage Chuck wore a ducktail hairdo and occasionally snuck over to the local used car lot with his friends to take joyrides around town. Chuck graduated from Levelland High School in 1954, then earned his architecture degree from Texas Tech (Wreck 'Em Tech!) in 1960.

Chuck had a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps; he was the first officer to obtain his three-year required work as an architect while serving in the Navy and only the fourth 'registered architect' in the Navy at the time. He met and married the love of his life, Mieko Shimoda in 1962, while both were working at the Yokosuka Navy Base, Japan. Together, they built a family, including adopting their daughter, Kim, at age five from Vietnam. They travelled across Asia to his duty stations in Japan, Thailand, and Guam, with stateside tours in Beaufort, South Carolina; Las Vegas, Nevada; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and Beeville, Texas. From 1971 - 1972, he served as an officer in the Vietnam War by ensuring roads remained passable between Nha Trang and Dalat, Vietnam.

After retirement from the Navy at the rank of Commander in 1986, he began a civilian career in Cincinnati, Ohio as a construction project manager. His most notable project was managing the construction of the Aronoff Center for Design and Art on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Adopting Cincinnati as his home for more than 35 years, Chuck became a fan of the Reds and the Bengals, and developed a love of Graeter's ice cream.

Chuck always kept up with the latest technology. His professional career began using slide rules and producing blueprints. By retirement he was an expert in autocad and, shortly after, was building his own PCs and writing HTML for his personal website.

Wherever he lived, Chuck was an avid photographer. As the photographer for his high school yearbook, he learned to develop and print photos, using those skills as an adult to document his journeys across the Far East. He later graduated to digital photography, chronicling his many post-retirement vacations and cruises with Mieko, and also teaching Photoshop to others online when at home.

In addition to photography, he had other diverse interests. He was a "foodie" before "foodies" was a term. Together with Mieko, he enjoyed making dishes from all corners of the world. He was a top-notch cook and excelled at home-brewing beer. While stationed in Japan, he climbed Mt Fuji twice. A favorite pastime in Japan was giving new life to pre-WWII era Japanese "tansu" furniture, which he found discarded in the alley ways of old neighborhoods, then repaired, reconditioned, and rejuvenated as a weekend hobby. He used similar skills to rebuild a 1953 MG TD while using it as an opportunity to mentor his son.

Chuck lived a diverse and passionate life from growing up in rural Texas, to serving in wartime Vietnam, working at nuclear test sites, traveling across Asia, excelling at his many hobbies, and, with his wife Mieko, building a strong, loving family.

We love you, Dad.

The family would like to express their sincere appreciation to the staff of Ridgecrest of McCandless, Pennsylvania and Commonwealth Hospice. His last year of life remained vibrant and full because of you.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to either the American Cancer Society, https://www.cancer.org/donate.html, or the Navy Seabee Foundation scholarship fund https://www.seabee.org/support/