RICHARD (DICK) GEORGE SIMONS, C.A.

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RICHARD (DICK) GEORGE SIMONS, C.A. When the dust of Angels began to fall and the Lord said If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you. On Friday, December 2, 2005 at his home, our beloved Dick found peace, with his family at his side, after a courageous battle with cancer. He will be sadly missed by his loving wife of 48 years, Edna; his sons, Dr. Brent Simons of Minneapolis, Dr. Neil Simons and wife Dr. Barbara King of Unionville, ON. He is survived by his brother Donald (Terry) of Winnipeg (Sharon, Stephen and their families); sister Joyce (Leo) DaDalt of Markham, ON (Paul, Gary, Nancy, Gordon and their families); brother-in-law David Kettler of Vancouver (Peter and family). He was predeceased by his father and mother Samuel and Ida Simons, and sister-in-law Elsie (Popaduk) Kettler. Dick was born in Winnipeg January 7, 1931 and grew up in the West End and attended school at John M King, General Wolfe, and Daniel McIntyre. He was an active and enterprising young man who sang in the St. Matthew's Church Choir, worked as a paperboy and in the corner grocery store. At age 17, he started work at Trans Canada Airlines (now Air Canada) in the mailroom. Dick and Edna married in 1957. While working full time at Air Canada he completed Certified Public Accounting courses by correspondence and in August 1967 became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. He retired from Air Canada in 1989 as Manager of Corporate Accounting in Winnipeg after 41 years of service. Working at Air Canada allowed him to travel extensively, initially with his buddies from work, and then with Edna, and eventually the entire family. His interest in genealogy spurred a memorable trip to Penzance, England, where he traced his family history. A September 2005 Helicopter-Hiking trip in the Canadian Rocky Mountains was the highlight of his travel adventures. Dick's love and joy was working at his cottage at the Big Whiteshell Lake. In 1964 construction of the cottage began and was completed in August of 2005. Fishing, hiking, observing all types of birds and wildlife, photography, genealogy, and astronomy were many of his interests. An accomplished handyman, many of his friendships were based around fixing, building, and re-constructing just about anything. Dick was a caring, guiding father and was enthusiastically involved in all of his sons' life experiences. He travelled to the many places his sons lived and always provided encouragement and advice. We will miss him greatly. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, December 7, 11:00 a.m. at St Stephen's Anglican Church, 220 Helmsdale Ave., Winnipeg. Rev. Diane K. Guilford will officiate. Cremation has already taken place. No words can express our appreciation for his sister Joyce over the past month. We thank Nancy DaDalt for organizing the Heli-Hiking trip, and the Podaima and the Ewanochko families for the wonderful home cooking and support. The family would like to thank Dick's primary physician Dr. R. Martens, his cardiologist Dr. H. Smith, and his team at CancerCare Manitoba led by Dr. P. Czaykowski. Memorial contributions may be made to: Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba, The Heart and Stroke Building, 6 Donald St., Winnipeg, MB, R3L 0K6; CancerCare Manitoba, 675 McDermot Ave., Room ON1160, Winnipeg, MB, R3E 0V9. KLASSEN FUNERAL HOME 1897 Henderson - North of McIvor - 338-0331

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 06, 2005