ARMAN SIMONE

SIMONE ARMAN ROBERT SIMONE Arman Robert Simone, businessman philanthropist and longtime resident of Warrenton Virginia, passed away peacefully at his home on Saturday, October 13, 2018. He was 90 years old and the cause of death was congestive heart failure. Arman Robert Simone was born in Detroit in 1928 to immigrant parents of Armenian origin. He attended Valley Forge Military Academy, a preparatory school in Pennsylvania, graduated from University of Michigan and attended University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. After graduating from law school, he founded the Simone Corporation which focused on commercial buildings and medical offices. Mr. Simone served for many years on the board of directors of the Masco Corporation, a company which designs, manufactures and distributes home improvement and building products worldwide and is ranked as one of the top 200 companies in the United States. Arman Simone believed in service, cared for the wellbeing of others, and supported social change movements, as well as lifelong learning. After retiring from active business, he created a foundation for spiritual philanthropy in support of peace, social justice and community engagement. Committed to nonviolence, he supported programs that were directed at peace and conflict resolution and helped to establish a Graduate Scholarship Fund for peace studies at American University. He participated in growth and development of Mind -Body Institute at Harvard Medical School and worked closely with its founder Dr. Benson, a pioneer in mind -body research in medicine. He also supported the Center for Mind -Body Medicine in Washington DC founded by Dr. James Gordon to help train health care profession- als in mind-body medicine trauma relief and suicide prevention. With a lifelong commitment to service, he was involved with Catholic charities, helped build a hunger relief organization with Deacon Carl Shelton of San Diego and SHARE Food Network, a community based organization in Washington, DC to provide service to people in need. In memory of the suffering of the Armenian genocide victims, he visited the war ravaged southern Sudan where, with the assistance of the local Catholic Bishop, helped distribute desperately needed food among the victims of genocide. He supported Child Help, a Virginia-based organization for abandoned, neglected and at-risk children and served on the board of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. A lifelong supporter of peace, social justice, and the environment, Arman Simone was involved in organizations such as the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, Non-Violence International, and Physicians for Human Rights. He supported the writer-conservationist Sir Laurens Van der Post, the Wilderness Fund of Ian Player, and organizations such as the Piedmont Environmental Council and the Nature Conservancy among many others. In addition to his wife Fera Simone, Mr.Simone is survived by his brother Charles Nickson, his three children from his first marriage Mark Simone, Christine Simone, and David Simone, and two grandchildren Kathleen and Alec Simone. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his name to SHARE Food Network, Catholic Charities DC 3222 Hubbard Rd. Landover, MD20785