Filip had a special knack for knowing how kids' minds work and understood them well - that's what made him so good at his job being an After School Care Director.

My memory of him teaching me an important lesson about the child psyche is a little hard to explain, but I'll try.

Our family was over my house (before I had kids myself) and I was getting ready to serve coffee when I realized that all the kids (ages 2-5 or so) were sitting at the round table that had the hot coffee maker on it.

I told Filip that it could be dangerous if they touched it and that I'll let them know not to touch it because it's hot. "No!", he said. "Don't do that...then they'll all want to touch it!" Him being a father, I took his word and didn't mention anything...just grabbed the pot and returned it when I was done". Yup, he was right. They completely ignored me and didn't notice the hot pot either.

I'm pretty sure if I said something, someone would have gotten burnt! 

As I raise my own daughter now, I often think of him and wonder what he would say or do to give me guidance.

Happy Birthday today, Filipe! We miss you!

Dear Filip,

     I cannot believe that it has been 4 years since we spoke. Your constant smile and happy attitude still fills the hallways of Ridgewood Avenue School. Your spirit and love of life does live on in so many of the children and adults that you interacted with daily. I know that you are watching and I am so hoping that you are in a good place, where there is only happiness and joy......exactly what you shared with everyone you met. I miss you.

One of Filip's innate characteristics was his uninhibited willingness to help others. It was just something that he did. If you needed something, he would be there to help...whether you asked for it or not. It was a special gift.

There are many stories floating around about how he touched our lives in this way.

One of the things he did for me was find my first car - my Subaru! I knew I wanted the 90s Subaru Outback Sport but couldn't find the right fit for the right price.  He's always been really good at finding used cars & motorcycles in good shape for a good deal and that's how I landed my green Subaru! 

When he told me he found my car, I didn't realize it would be in a different state though! Somehow he knew it would be perfect, so we set out with our dad to NY, just north of the Delaware Water Gap, to check it out. It was a few hours away, but that didn't matter.

After test driving and a little bit of talking the dealer down, I drove away with my new car and have been hooked on Subarus ever since (and so was he). :)

The school where Filip worked for many years (in Glen Ridge, NJ) wanted to honor him in a special way and decided that a Makerspace would be perfect! They raised funds to create a beautiful space where children can use their imagination and create things with their hands. It's truly the perfect way to honor Filip because it speaks to his character! He loved working with his hands, being around kids and teaching them anything he knew. He'd be humbled and touched beyond belief! The plaque that is featured displays Filip's own words from a poem he wrote and shows all those who financially supported the space. Thank you, Glen Ridge! 

Filip always found ways to make us smile and laugh. And even after his passing he is still making my girl smile. This is one of my daughters favorite books “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats, that he gifted to her and she laughs and smiles every we read it, and this morning was no different, She  jumped for joy as I approached the bed with this book.

Thank you Filip, we read this book today in your honor.

Love,

Vanja and Natasa 

Happy Birthday, Filipe! Yesterday we celebrated you on the Delaware River! We had tubes, a raft and kayaks and even came across a rope swing that you would have loved! I saw you swinging from it and decided to join you! Just like when we were kids! :) We had a beautiful day and wonderful time and felt you with us. Those that couldn't be with us in person, were with us in spirit to celebrate you!

We told stories and memories. I have so many of you, but the one I shared was of the time we were teenagers in the Czech Republic when we stopped in Novy Bor with our grandparents. I saw a ring in an antique store that I liked, but couldn't buy. After we left, you said you needed to go to the bathroom and ran away. A while later, you gave me the ring that I liked so much! I still have it. This is just one example of your many acts of spontaneous kindness that you would do unexpectedly for people.

We miss you and think of you often!

It was a beautiful spring day in 2008.  Jakub and Filip were determined to run the Lehigh River in our canoe.  They were reliving a memory from long ago when they would run the river in an old aluminum lake canoe.  There would be a few Class III rapids.  They were trying to be on the "up and up"...helmets were on (they were our rock climbing helmets), bladders were attached to the inside of the canoe, life vests were clipped.  The rangers were serious because the water was high and they were checking everyone.   I was going to stay back and watch all four of the kids at the campground (swinging, fishing, playing in nature).  At the end of the run, the guys were wet and freezing cold, but they made it! I think I remember that Filip insisted that we all go out for ice cream, too.   Two brothers having a great time on the river.   It was a good day.  

I remember on one of our family hikes, when we were going to take a group picture Uncle Filip played a prank on us that no one noticed until after the picture had been taken. When we looked back on the picture everything was normal except Uncle Filip was in his underwear! While everyone was distracted getting ready for the picture, Uncle Filip managed to secretly pull off this prank that just brought laughter and happiness into the whole day. He would always do funny things like that to make the people around him happy and the memories of all of his jokes are linked with memories of his genuine and contagious laughter. Uncle Filip, during these past two years, everybody misses you deeply and feels the absence of your humor that reminds us all to just take a moment to smile and have a good time. 

Fil would always drop in to hang out and talk over a bottle of wine. We could always speak freely about anything. He made you feel human, like we were all part of one big family. Thank You Fil for reminding us of our humanity and for your lessons in brotherhood that we will always cherish. - Juan V. & Jessica Guerra -

This is our Mammoth trip after which Filip visited Vegas, missed his flight a day before the airline went our of business, and had to take the bus back east.  The skiing was great worth it, though, especially in the onsie suits he got us ;-)

Here we met up to do a little canoeing in New Jersey.  Another great trip!

This is after Filip and the boys visited us in Michigan.  Filip loved the "Pure Michigan" slogan and kept repeating it throughout the visit...so they got some "Michigan" shirts ;-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU OLD FART!!  YOU WOULD GET A KICK OUT OF THAT COMMENT!!  THERE IS NOT A DAY THAT GOES BY THAT WE LOOK AT YOUR BOYS AND IMAGINE YOU THERE WITH THEM.  YOU WOULD BE SO PROUD.  KYLE, SIMON, AND LUKE ARE MAKING SO MANY MEMORIES TOGETHER.  YOU ARE MISSED FAR MORE THAN YOU KNOW.  REST WELL MY FRIEND.  TRINA, RICH AND KYLE

Filip's school, where he had worked for many years as the Director of the Childcare Program, recently annouced that they will be building a special room for kids to create, invent and learn which will be dedicated to Filip. It's so touching to see what an impact he had made! 

This is the newsletter that was sent to the school community on May 2, 2016 by Ridgewood School Principal, Michael Donovan. 

"A Makerspace is exactly what it sounds like- a space to make things! Whether building Lego structures as high as the ceiling, using something called a Makey Makey to be able to use a banana as a space bar on the computer, or printing a phone case with a 3-D printer...the possibilities are endless! It can be as simple as seeing what can be built using masking tape and paper towel tubes or what happens when certain items are taken apart and then put back together. At Ridgewood Avenue School, we have so many students who love to build, create, explore and imagine and with the help of our Home and School Association, my goal is to design a Makerspace for that to happen.

Our first step has already happened- we’ve brought in a mason and architect to help us with the plans to turn the girls’ bathroom in the basement into two bathrooms (if you’ve ever seen that space, you know it’s certainly big enough to become two). The next step will be to demolish the boys’ bathroom in the basement and reframe it as our new Makerspace! The room will be designed to incorporate all elements of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics).

The Home and School Association will help kick start our Makerspace campaign but we need as much help as we can get in order to design the room and fill it with the necessary tools and equipment for our students to safely build, create, explore and imagine.

If you are interested in supporting this new Ridgewood Avenue adventure- please click the link below. All who donate will be recognized through a special plaque. Last year, our District Director of After-Care, Filip Simon, passed away tragically and unexpectedly in an accident. Filip was an outdoorsman who loved to teach his two sons and the children in the aftercare program about nature and the ability to build and create with nothing more than an imagination. Our Makerspace will be dedicated in celebration of Filip Simon.

The video link in the bottom of this letter describes a Makerspace in a New Jersey High School. I encourage you to google and YouTube “makerspace” in order to get an idea of the excitement we plan to create for our students!

https://glenridge.wufoo.com/forms/ras-makerspace-campaign/

RIDGEWOOD AVENUE SCHOOL, 235 RIDGEWOOD AVE, GLEN RIDGE, NJ 07028 TEL 973.429.8306 FAX 973.743.7181 E-MAIL: MDONOVAN@GLENRIDGE.ORG

If you have any questions or would like to discuss donations, please contact Principal, Michael Donovan (mdonovan@glenridge.org ) or Home and School President, Kristin O’Neil (koneil@penguinrandomhouse.com ).

Yours in Imagination!

Michael Donovan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZE8nCABAX4&list=PLDSRWvsicDDpMITIGJB8t_kvY25kwi GCR 

A quick trip back east. So many enormous life changes await us.  Remembering Filip on November 1st with his favorite lunch in New Hope along the river.  

Filip and I were roommates during our study abroad trip in Bangkok, Thailand. It was only for six months and we lost touch after that trip. I don't think I will ever know what prompted me to look him up out of the blue today; although the news was sad, I have enjoyed learning about him and his life before and after that brief time I knew him. This picture is of the two of us in mid-late 1996 in Bangkok.

In that short time I got to know how what a kind, outgoing, adventurous and funny guy he was and what a zest for life he had. Although not surprised, I am so impressed at the impact he clearly had on the students in his school, and of course his sons, family and friends.

You may not know this, but the Thailand program included teaching elementary school kds some English words once a week. In reality it was mostly just playing with the kids, and Filip was a natural! Somehow he was able to teach them to play duck, duck, goose with them not knowing any English; him, no Thai! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have survived! Perhaps that somehow moved him along the path to end up leaving the legacy he did--one that is larger after only forty years than most of us can hope to leave in eighty.

I am better for having known him, and I will never forget him.

RIP, Filip

Simone is 1 month shy of 4yrs and it is interesting to see how she has processed the passing of Filip and how much it affects her. I wasn't sure how to explain death and the passing of her uncle (strejda Filip, as we call him), but approached it truthfully and told her that he had an accident and that his heart stopped and that he is no longer with us. She would ask why, why, why, over and over as she does with most things and I think not seeing him anymore these last few months has begun to settle in her mind.

Yesterday she woke and the first thing she asked was why strejda Filip wasn't here and that she wanted to see him. She became very sad and shed a few tears. We talked about remembering him and looking at his photo, but she didn't want that...she wanted him to be here. The day prior, we were walking from pre-school and she picked a piece of evergreen from a bush and said it was for strejda Filip and this was completely on her own, without talking about him earlier.

Simone's memory of Filip warms my heart and makes me cry too.  Her memory and love for Filip is real and it is because of the impression he made on her. He would frequently visit us, often with Simon & Luke for weekend sleepovers. Sometimes he visited alone and made sure to play with Simone, read her a story and bring her a flower - only for her. Filip would go out of his way to make Simone feel special.

It's so sad you're no longer here to be a part of our lives, but we're grateful for the imprint you made in our hearts and on our minds. We miss you!

Going through some of the kids' books from when they were little,  I stumbled across Animalia.  The memory of Filip giving the kids this book many years ago came rushing back to me.  It was so thoughtful.  He gave the kids his personal copy of Animalia (the one that he used in the classroom).    I remember that he loved reading this book to his class.  It's an alphabet book with whimsical, fantastical, and detailed pictures of animals.  Nate and Fia would be captivated for hours searching for the smallest detail on each page.   Inside are Filip's post-it notes for the classroom, securely paperclipped to the pages with specific details to find images that were especially challenging.  Our kids are now too big to enjoy the book, but I imagine Jakub reading the book with Simon and Lukie in the same patient way that Filip read it with our kids.

Filip came and visited Megan and me when we lived in Mountain View, CA.  He knew Santa Cruz, on the other side of the mountains, was a special place for me, so he was psyched to do the 4 day wilderness hike together across the mountain range.  I warned him to prepare, it would be tough.  Yeah whatever, he turned up at the San Francisco airport with an extra 20 lbs on him. He didn't seem to mind, but he also didn't know the intensity of the hike!  He found out!  We both did. Here he is, coming out of the red woods, trails end, Pacific Ocean in sight.  That's a sh*t eating grin on his face!

When I saw this photo in the gallery of photos, it brought me right back to those summers so many years ago.  Here's Filip, with my sons, Robbie, Michael, and Kevin Price in our backyard,  filling this small  pool with water from the hose, so they can have some summer fun.  Look at those smiling faces.  Makes me smile.  And then it makes me cry. 

My earliest memory of Filip was when he was probably almost 5 years old.  A new little guy was playing on Albermarle Avenue, the street where we  lived.  This adorable, wild curly blond haired, smiley faced little boy was Filip Simon.

I went to the front porch one day, and there was Filip racing around on a two wheel bicycle, no training wheels.  I had never seen such a small child riding a 2-wheel bike.  This was the smallest, cutest 2-wheel bike that I had ever seen, and this little guy Filip was riding this bike as if he had been born riding a bike. 

This is my first memory of Filip.  Filip soon became a best friend and constant companion to all three of my sons for many years that followed.  

I promise I will share more of my memories.        

  

I will always remember Filip's laughing energy!

A good memory of mine involving Filip was camping and rock-climbing one weekend in the early '90s in "The Gunks" in New York with Filip, his brother Jakub and their friend Alice.

We woke up the first morning and heated up some water to make oatmeal.  Of course Filip had already dug into breakfast first when one of us realized that some bugs had previously gotten into the box of oatmeal (no longer alive...but not appetizing none-the-less)!  The other three of us put down our bowls and didn't think about eating the oatmeal but Filip started eating his faster!  Jakub asked Filip what he was doing (in Czech of course and I got the translation later).  Filip's reply was, "I'm so hungry and I wanted to finish eating before I started to think about it!"  At this point he had us all rolling around on the ground laughing...pure Filip!

Rest in peace, Filip.  

 popular Glen Ridge schools staff member was killed in a motorcycle accident in Monmouth County last week.

Filip Simon, 39, had been on his way to work on the morning of April 14 when his motorcycle veered off a road and collided with a tree in Holmdel, according to online media reports and to tribute pages.

Simon had been the longtime director of the Glen Ridge school district’s childcare program.

"Filip Simon was a caring staff member," Superintendent John Mucciolo said Tuesday. "He was loved by his students, and a friend to staff and parents. We mourn his loss."

Simon had been employed with the district for nine years, Mucciolo said.

Nancy McMahon is the program’s billing director; she and Simon had worked together for several years, and she remembered him on Monday as a capable worker and as a compassionate person. "I can remember on numerous occasions stopping in at the end of the aftercare day only to find Filip sitting quietly with the last child to be picked up. He helped with homework, played card games, or just listened to what was on that child’s mind," she said. "It was clear that he made the children of Glen Ridge feel the same way he made me feel; that our lives and our friendship were the most important thing to him."

A condolences page had been set up for Simon as of Thursday, on the website ForeverMissed.com. Friends and family members, including several Glen Ridge district staff members, posted condolences there over the next several days.

Scott Terpin is a sixth-grade teacher at Ridgewood Avenue School, and one of the coordinators for the school’s before-care program. He left this tribute on the site: "I had a student who came to before-care today just to stand by your desk. It is odd that it was quiet just because of our usual boisterous talks and the fact that you were not there. I could see the sadness in his eyes and the impression that you have made on him. We sat there quietly just remembering you. Your impact on the children and staff alike will last a lifetime and we were all lucky to have known you. You are truly a guy’s guy and you were taken to early from us."

Other postings on ForeverMissed.com paid tribute to Simon, or "Filip bro" or "Uncle Filip," as an avid hiker and outdoorsman, and as a brother, father and uncle.

His surviving family includes his two young sons, Simon and Luke.

The families have set up a YouCaring.com page, "Simon and Lukie’s Education Fund" to help raise money for the boys’ education. As of Monday, the donations for the boys’ fund had exceeded $10,000, and the family had set a new donation goal of $20,000.

A celebration of Simon’s life was to be held in Middletown on Saturday. Other gatherings are planned in Pennsylvania and the Czech Republic at later dates.

Filip was a gift. As many of you have expressed and know, he was a special soul whose smile and laugh were genuine and healing. His humor is what we always identified with Filip when growing up. While our older brother and I were more serious, he’s the one who would crack jokes, do goofy things and make everyone laugh. As a boy, he looked like an angel with beautiful, long, golden curls that we would weave our fingers through and pretend were rings.

Filip had many amazing qualities, some of which include being funny, kind, thoughtful, adventurous and loving, but the ones I would like to highlight are that he was one of the most dependable people I have ever known, extremely dedicated and deeply devoted.

I knew he would always be there for me. If I called and asked for help with something, there were no questions, just “of course” and that’s just him, even when you don’t ask, he’d show up and help, like when he would spontaneously shovel my sidewalk in Philadelphia before going to work at 5am, clean-out our garage to surprise us or be the sole person to physically help move our home from one location to another.

He was also dedicated to any work he was doing, professionally or not. One story is of him spending an entire summer in highschool to take apart a VW GT engine to transfer it into the body of another. If you could see this task! He had no mechanical background, but conquered this project like a king. He took out each part and screw, labeled it with a name and number, hung it on some elaborate engine map that he designed and then reversed the order to reassemble. It was a crazy feat, but he persisted and did it, figuring out each step along the way! nobody believed it would work, but the car started! This is how he approached tasks and never gave-up; it is truly awe inspiring and admirable.

Filip was also deeply devoted and always kept his word. The best example of this is with his family and care for his boys.  He would swim to the moon for them. They are what brought him most happiness in his life. He would teach them any chance he got and always involved them in everything, whether it was play or work. His devotion lives on within them, as they posses many of his strongest, most beautiful qualities.

We miss you beyond any words I can express, Filipe and I will love you and remember you forever.

Filip and I are having cigars that he brought congratulating ourselves on the fact that everything in our lives is now legal.  We are legal to drink the whiskey we have in our hands, the cars are insured, nannies are citizens, etc., etc.  Filip takes a big puff off his cigar.  Exhales…looks at me...and with his Filip grin states “except for these Cuban cigars”…

By Dan Ivers | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 
To Min Lu, Filip Simon was the picture of consistency in an otherwise unpredictable world.

Each morning, Lu would drop her daughter off at Ridgewood Avenue School in Glen Ridge, where Simon, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in Holmdel early Tuesday morning, oversaw childcare programs both before and after the school day.

Often, the demands of Lu's job in New York City did not fit with the program's 7:30 a.m. start time, or 6 p.m. lockup. Other times, she had to scramble for someone to look after her daughter when snow cancelled school.

But in any case, Simon was there, bright-eyed and smiling.

"He believed that his work has a purpose and a meaning, and that is to support those kids," Lu said. "If you need to drop your kid earlier, or if you're stuck in traffic and you can't pick up your kid until after six, he would be there."

Other friends and colleagues described Simon as dedicated and warm towards the children he interacted with — much the same way he treated his own young sons, Luke and Simon.

Ridgewood Avenue School Principal Michael Donovan said he hired Simon as the district's director of childcare 10 years ago, and watched him quickly form close bonds with nearly everyone he spoke with, inside the school and out.

"Always a smile on his face, always a kind word," he said. "Several people yesterday said that when they spoke with Filip, he made them feel as if he was the only person that was around."

The son of immigrants, Lu said he had a special fondness for the many single parents or new arrivals to the country who would entrust their children to him each school day.

"I was asking him, 'Why are you so good to us? Why are you so good to our kids?'," she said. "He said 'That's the path to the American dream. I am in this to support those kids.'"

A Pennsylvania native, Simon was also fond of the outdoors. A memorial page set up on the website ForeverMissed.com shows him hiking and canoeing. In a comment left on the page, former classmate Brian Konowal called him "one of the greatest adventurers I have ever known."

Police said Simon was a resident of Nazareth, Pa., though Donovan said he had been living in Keyport.

The principal said the mood around the elementary school had been somber over the loss of Simon, who was well-known even to students outside of the childcare program due to his nearly constant presence.

"Filip is a show up early, stay late kind of guy," Donovan said. "A give you the shirt off his back kind of guy."

www.nj.com 

I am the Principal at Ridgewood Avenue School where Filip worked.  I considered him a friend and feel as if I know Simon and Luke, as we spoke daily about our sons.

But I'm writing today to give you a glimpse into Filip's impact in Glen Ridge. This morning, a group of 4th grade boys walked into my office with an envelope full of cash.  There's over $200 and they told me it's for the education fund for Mr. Simon's sons.  The boys were in After Care with Filip and idolized him- as so many kids did.  And so this weekend, while we all tried to make sense of this tragedy and find our way through it...these boys went to work.  They held a car wash in their neighborhood.  A lemonade stand.  And one boy had an inflatable bounce house in his backyard that he charged neighborhood kids to use.  They wanted to do something special for Mr. Simon and they knew finding a way to help his sons would mean the world to him.  I know it would.

 

To the family... thank you for creating a way for us share and say our final goodbye. Filip bro- I will never forget the first time our families met the boys were in first grade and we met up at a local carnival and you called me "Trish" the whole time and Tina kept correcting you!  My sister cracks up about that til this day!. Over the past four years we are honored to have known you well,   We had a special bond in that we both have a deepened love for our family and our children.  I always bragged about being the oldest child, you about the love of the youngest!  We were planning a trip abroad and you promised us it would be an adventure.  I loved how you always got my husband out of the house for a beer and dinner at the local restaurants in Keyport.  We were so happy when you joined our Cub Scout pack because you and your boys are the epitome of scouting and had so much talent to offer the program. You always made an effort to attend gatherings and seem to fit right in with our eclectic group of friends.  Our kids.... My son loves you like an uncle and the boys like brothers. This weights heavy on his heart.  The fun he had with you guys.  Flying paper airplanes at Park East restaurant was classic.  You beat everyone to the ALS challenge...and you trying to catch our quick footed Wheaton terrier in the yard. We started carpooling late in third grade.  Our boys always wanted to ride together and loved the adventures before school. You were brave and talented my brother and you and your shenanigans will never be forgotten. Thank you for fostering our friendship and your legacy lives on through your beautiful boys.  Rest well my friend, until we meet again. Trina, Rich and Kyle Pettus

Dear Filip!

Today in the car I asked our daughter Lucie Allistone Glover what she remembered about Filip. She said "Always kind". He was that. He also had a wonderful sense of humor in those generous eyes. We will never forget him. Cherish all the memories you have of your father and loved one. We are forever grateful that he was in Lucie's life. He was an example to the kids and to us all. With love to you. Claire and Lucie

There is a lot of beautiful and mainly funny stories with Filip... mostly of them are from my summer holidays in States, where I stayed in Philly. Mostly of my time in week I just take a bike and ride to the center to visit him and we were just talking. Beautful time...Together with Charles and Filip I saw my first big music concert in my life. It was Blink 182(I was 16yr:) and he tried to sneak a bottles of beer in his pants:) Of course they catch him, but it was fun.

Longest time I spend with Filip(also Václav Z.) was during our trips to Colorado to visit Peter Z. and camp in the mountains. Long trip, a lot of stories.

Another trip was again together with Václav, but to Millwaukee to visit Vaclav's cousin Honza. During few hours again super stories:) But finished by long friendly talking in jacuzzi.

Thank you Filipe for every minute we spend together.Always amazing time with you. I will miss you. It is a pitty you were so far and we didn't see each other more often.

R.I.P. VOLE:)

We were partners in crime one new years eve in Amsterdam, as we layed back to back and feet to feet in a strange frozen attic reminiscing our unusual adventure. Our breaths formed beer damp clouds. And we laughed.... Filip tried to take on a white mercedes beast earlier that night. He had climbed and stood on top of its head victorously, however the beast became frightened and angry and started to run and Filip was spun up in the air. He giggled when he landed, as I clamped the smiling gaping gash on the side of his forehead. Any other person would have probably gotten pretty upset by this experience but not Filip he was as well humored and silly as ever.
An ambulence joyride later we were pulling pranks in the emercency room amused by the prominant red button on the wall. The hospital staff was not particuraly pleased with our visit but this did not keep us from notably amusing ourselves and perhaps overstaying our welcome.
The following day shoulder to shoulder and ear to ear we fell into a deep sleep in our getaway car.

Filip I miss you buddy! Best partner in crime I ever had.  

My son and I moved to Glen Ridge last year. My son enrolled in the aftercare program and we met Filip. My son, Jacob, adored him, and never minded if I was late to pick him up as long as Mr. Simon was there.

We only knew him for a couple months, but he was one of our favorite people at Ridgewood Avenue School. He was always kind to the kids and thoughtful. When he smiled, he smiled with his whole body- he just glowed. You felt you were the one person he wanted to see more than anyone else.

My deepest sympathies to his family and friends. May his memory always be a blessing.

I met uncle Filip in spring 2013 during my time in Ann Arbor, while he and his sons visited during the weekend. I remember that weekend so well, particularly because I'll never forget how great it was! Dad and Uncle Filip took Simon, Luke and myself canoeing on a beautiful sunday afternoon, it was the first time I ever went canoeing and it was absolutely one of the greatest memories I've ever had. 

Uncle Filip had a kind of energy that just lit up the room, he always told jokes and made us all end up laughing until our stomachs hurt... I still remember the new nickname he gave me after I almost fell of the canoe...

I may have only spent one weekend with Uncle Filip, but he was definitely one of the nicest, most genuine people I know.

Rest in peace, Uncle Filip. You are definitely missed.  

I have many, many memories of Filip, but two will always remain in my heart.  He was a wonderful, patient, and fun-loving uncle to my children.

I remember driving from Prague to the Austrian Alps all night to ski right before the Christmas holiday with Jakub, Filip, Veru, Daniela and the kids.   Filip was a beautiful and talented skier.  He glided across the slopes so effortlessly.   Sophia was 3 in this photo, and only a patient and loving uncle would volunteer to walk with a 3 year old (in ski boots!) to retun to the hut.   I have always loved this photo and memory and how he's not rushing her or forcing her along - just patiently walking at a 3 year old's pace. 

The second memory I will treasure is of Filip blowing dishwasher bubbles at Nate. We were in the Adirondacks on a big family winter gathering before the New Year and someone loaded the dishwasher with regular soap.  Maybe it was Ondrej? The dishwasher exploded with bubbles.  I remember Filip offering to clean up the mess and making it especially fun for the kids.   Filip always had a way of looking for the fun and the humor in every situation.   His joking, smile, and laughter will be missed. I am so grateful that my children had an uncle like Filip. 

We will help Luke and Simon remember all of their dad's wonderful qualities.  

 

I have so many great memories of Uncle Filip; he truly was the fun, "wild" Uncle as I was growing up :-).

This one picture, I remember we were at my grandparents house, and the engine wouldn't start, so he opened up the hood and just started fixing it. I remember telling him "this is the manliest photo I've ever seen" (with greasy hands, cans of beer, and a headlamp), so I told him to pose (fo' the ladies).

Uncle Filip was committed to helping - always with a smile on his face, and that wonderful laugh. More memories will be posted! 

Our children have been going to Ridgewood Avenue aftercare for several years now.  We are all shocked and terribly sadden on the passing of Mr. Simon.  Our memories of him are a very nice man, who cared so much for all the kids, and who always had a smile on his face.  Our daughter, 10, shared some stories last night and said something about the time Mr. Simon slept on a roof (not sure what that is about!).  I feel he must have had a love for travel.  I travel a lot for business and everytime I would see him, he would ask where I have been and what my next trip was.

So many families in our community have been touched by his kindness.  We are lucky to have been one of them.  Our family thoughts and prayers are with his sons, family and friends during this difficult time.  He will be greatly missed.