Marilyn A. Simon

Marilyn Alice Simon, née Hartz, passed away at age 83. Her family was with her at Vero Beach Hospice House when she passed after a long, courageous battle with Alzheimer’s.

Marilyn spent her adolescence during World War II in Panama where her father was employed by the Panama Canal Company. The family returned to the United States in 1954 and settled in Trenton, New Jersey. Her father was a maintenance supervisor for the Delaware River Bridge Commission and her mother was night nursing supervisor for Mercer Hospital.

Marilyn attended Trenton Central High School and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree at New Jersey State College. Marilyn taught mathematics at Allentown High School, Ewing High School, Lawrence Junior High School, and Lawrence High School. She retired from teaching in 1998.

All her life, Marilyn was an accomplished mother, homemaker, and social hostess. With equal ease she could make a batch of cookies or organize a dinner party for 100 people. She was also a seamstress and created and modified family garb.

When her children were toddlers, Marilyn was President of their nursery school. She was also a youth group leader at Lawrenceville Presbyterian Church.

Marilyn especially enjoyed spending time with her grandsons. She volunteered in their classrooms; joined them on outings, with Orlando theme parks being a favorite; took them boating and skiing; bussed them to and from school; and could always be counted on to make some popcorn and watch any of the Harry Potter films.

While she never played tournament bridge, she was an avid social bridge player and played in several clubs. Marilyn was also an above average bowler and was in demand for various bowling leagues. She also loved ice skating.

She was a Red Cross certified lifeguard and a certified open water SCUBA diver. She was certified in first aid, CPR, and defibrillators.

Marilyn and Ellis maintained a second home in Dillon, CO from 1998 – 2012 where they were skiers and Guest Services volunteers at Keystone Resort. Marilyn co-chaired the nation’s largest Senior Winter Games in Summit County. She was awarded the Summit County Senior Volunteer of the Year award.

Marilyn was a skilled pleasure boater and cruised extensively from Nova Scotia to the Dry Tortugas, as well as the Bahamas. She was able to captain the vessel and handle all functions of charting and navigation. Marilyn also traveled across the country with her private pilot husband. She was trained to fly the plane and make an emergency landing if needed.

As part of their boating activities, Marilyn was a lifelong member of the United States Power Squadrons, a boating educational organization. She taught safe boating to hundreds of boaters.

While engaged in all the other aspects of her busy life, Marilyn was trained as an H&R Block counselor. She handled all the family finances including the taxes.

Marilyn enjoyed music and had a beautiful singing voice. She would often join in, especially on holiday songs.  She was also an animal lover.

Marilyn had yet another hidden talent. She was an extraordinary shipyard worker. If you wanted it scraped, sanded, painted, or varnished, and you asked nicely, Marilyn could do it. Need a tool or a part?  No problem. She could talk “nutspeak” to a hardware attendant and come back with the crucial parts. Need a 3/8 drive 9/16 6-point socket?  Marilyn would hand it to you or suggest an alternative.

In addition to Lawrenceville Presbyterian Church, while in Colorado, Marilyn and Ellis were members of Lord of the Mountains Lutheran Church in Dillon where they installed a video streaming system for the church services, bringing the word of the Lord to traveling and home-bound parishioners. When they relocated to Vero Beach, they joined Our Savior Lutheran Church in Vero Beach where they contributed by installing Our Savior’s video streaming and by providing lightning protection for the church.

Marilyn is survived by her husband of 60 years, Ellis Simon; son, Donald Simon; daughter, Leigh Ann Dunleavy; son-in-law, Michael Dunleavy; grandsons, Christopher and Patrick Dunleavy; brother, Henry Hartz; sisters-in-law, Marge Powers, Kathie Tufano, Nena Hartz, and Darlene Servis; brothers-in-law, Richard Tufano and James Shannon; nieces Marsha Keller, Karen Hartz, Christine Kumar, Doreen Miller Couture, Dawn Mcnamara, and Cindy Cook, nephew Charles Cherris, and cousins Roberta Allen, and Robert Kammerer. She is predeceased by her parents, Henry, and Mildred Hartz; brother, Donald Hartz; in-laws, Elias, and Elizabeth Simon; nieces, Catherine Cherris Colon and Susan Powers; and nephew, Mark Hartz.

The family would like to thank all the caregivers at VNA Home Care and Hospice – Vero Beach, VNA Hospice House in Vero Beach and the Alzheimer’s Association in Vero Beach, as well as our wonderful private, in-home caregivers, especially family friend and caregiver Luanne Pond, who relieved so much of her pain in her last months and days.

A celebration of life will be held in Vero Beach, FL on June 15,2022 at Our Savior Lutheran Church. The 11:00 am service will be followed by a reception at the Vero Beach Power Squadron in McWilliam Park.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking all to consider donating in Marilyn’s honor to the Alzheimer’s Association via The Longest Day Campaign: http://act.alz.org/goto/InMemoryMarilynSimon

Arrangements are by Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory, Vero Beach.