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IN MEMORIAM
John SIMON 1936 to 2009 AAS
Arborfield Intake 52A
1952
2009
Announcements posted on the
A.O.B.A. Forum. Subject:
John Simon 52A R.I.P. Mon Sep 14,
2009 8:08 pm Sadly I post the news received from Audrey Simon
regarding the passing of John Simon 52A. 'It is with great sadness that my family and I
have to tell you that John, in the care of the Marie Curie Hospice, passed
away on Saturday 12 September, after a short illness. He will be greatly missed by family and friends alike. Regards Audrey Simon and family' John lived in May God take care of John and comfort Audrey and
their family during these dark times for them. Trevor (52A) _______________________________________________________ Subject: Re: John Simon 52A R.I.P. Tue Sep 15, 2009 7:33 pm The following information has been received from
John's wife Audrey. Perhaps at that hour you might pause for a moment and
think of John along with Audrey and their family as they say their last
farewells. 'A Celebration of John's Life' will be held at St
Mark's Unitarian Church Castle Edinburgh on Tuesday 22 September at 11.00-am Trevor (52A) _______________________________________________________ Message by Email Maggie and I send our sincere condolences to
Audrey Simon and her family. John was indeed one of us and his demise leaves
us that much poorer. His courage and tenacity shine through the words with
which he announced his illness and that too marks him as an Arborfielder. RIP
John, we salute you as well as your quiet courage and great dignity. Greg and Maggie PECK (53B) _______________________________________________________. Members of intake 52A were
represented by Bill Gibson (52A) ‘The church
itself is in a lovely location beneath The Rev. Maud Robinson was a very young woman and
had only been there for a year and so the Rev. Andrew Hill was invited back
to take the main service as he had known John for 35 years which I thought
was a very nice gesture for him and the family. Moray, the youngest of the two boys, gave a short
letter reading. Fraser had a full written history of John’s life and gave a
good delivery, including all the humorous parts which went down very well. My lasting memory of the service was just what an
interesting and useful life John had led, especially after the false start medically
when he was at Arborfield. There was a lot to be proud of for Audrey and
their family.’ Bill GIBSON (52A) ________________________________________________________ A tribute to John John joined Intake 52A in February 1952 at the In the way of service life everybody went their
separate ways, but many years later John made contact with his old friends
from 52A. He expressed doubts about being able to call himself an Arborfield
Boy, not having completed the full three year stretch. He was immediately
reassured that he was fully entitled to call himself an Arborfield Boy and
that as a 52A lad he was one of our own. He left a message for me on a separate contact
site in which he explained the way he had chosen to deal with the illness
from which he was suffering. The relevant text is below: ‘It's been a traumatic year, having been diagnosed
as having an incurable lung cancer, with an average expectancy of 3-4 months,
but that was this time last year, and as I said - I'm still here. With such a short time forecast, I decided quality
was best, and declined chemo as my immune system has served me very well in
the past, and chemo starts by knocking that out. Because of that, we have had
a good year. I still live my life pretty much as before, but a bit less
responsibly perhaps. Occasionally - on a whim - we will abandon attending a
scheduled community-council or some other duty meeting, for a spontaneous
visit to friends, have a meal out, or just for a walk. The words of a truly courageous man who mapped his
own journey through the final stages of his life. Trevor STUBBERFIELD (52A)
The eulogy spoken by Fraser, the letter read by Moray
and The Order Of Service for John Simon (52A) can be read by clicking on the
wreath below.
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