Fred A. Simon, 93, of Arden NC, passed away peacefully Wednesday, February 3, 2016 at Heather Glen of Ardenwoods Assisted Living, Arden, NC surrounded by his loving family. Fred was born on March 18, 1922, in Berlin, Pankow,Germany, and was the son of Frieda Franciszka Kakuschke and Alfred Simon.
Fred grew up in Germany until he was 4 years old, then traveled to Chicago, Illinois where he lived and attended school until he was 10 years old when he returned to Berlin, Germany. Fred raced bicycles in Germany in his teen years, and then served in the German Army in World War II from 1941-1946 in the 3rd Panzer Division, and worked for the Americans after the war in Goeppingen, Germany.
Fred met his wife, Erna Reichstein, in Goeppingen, Germany where they married on July 26, 1947. In 1952 they immigrated to the USA to Chicago, Illinois where they had their daughter, Pamela in 1955, and their son, Peter in 1957. Fred became a US citizen in 1964, and worked for W.F. Hall Printing Company in Chicago for 33 years where he was part of the Chess and Photography Clubs until his retirement in 1985. Fred also collected coins and stamps, and became quite the expert in helping others evaluate their collections.
A very large part of Fred’s life was volunteering with the Cub and Boy Scouts from 1965 to 2015, for 50 years! Fred served in various troop positions including Scout Master and Hiking Trip Leader to the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico many times, where he hiked over 1600 miles with the Boy Scouts, 500 of them in the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico. Fred earned the Presidential Sports Award for Hiking and Backpacking several times, and was also a member of the Order of the Arrow Scouting organization for Scouts who best exemplified the spirit of the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives, and was recognized as a Leader of Distinction.
Fred and Erna moved to Arden, NC after their retirement in 1987, where he continued his volunteering with the Boy Scouts with Troop 628 in Hendersonville, NC. He was a member of the Unity Church of Mills River since 1987 where he spent many volunteer hours every year, and was recognized as Volunteer of the Year with his wife Erna. He also began genealogy research and volunteered for the Family History Center of Asheville in Arden, NC for 28 years, where he helped others with their genealogy research and translated German documents. Fred wrote his book, “A Berliner’s Luck – Surviving the Third Reich and World War II” in 2003, and enjoyed speaking about it and German history to various high schools, colleges, and groups in the Asheville, NC area. He was also invited on an Honor Air Flight for World War II Veterans from Asheville, NC to Washington DC, and received the Distinguished Youth Service award from Unity Churches International for over 40 years of service to the Boy Scouts in 2009.
In 1988, Fred’s first grandchild, Dawn Ashley Simon, was born, followed by Danielle Nicole Card in 1989, and Charles Peter Simon in 1992. His grandchildren brought him much joy and he was very proud of them.
Fred was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother-in-law and uncle, and had many friends both here in the Asheville area and in Chicago. He loved his many years with the Boy Scouts and often referred to them as a very important part of his life. He also touched many people’s lives with his book, genealogy research, German translating, and coin evaluating. He traveled to Germany several times after moving to the US, and enjoyed all his visits there with family and friends. Fred is trustworthy and honest, an adventurous and courageous soul who loved the mountains and the flora and fauna of the earth, and had 93 very active, wonderful years on this earth. He will be fondly remembered by many for his smile and sense of humor, friendship to all, and willingness to always serve and help others.
He is survived by his daughter Pamela Simon Card and granddaughter Danielle Card of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and his son Peter Fred Simon, granddaughter Dawn Simon, and grandson Charles Simon of Davie, Florida. He is also survived by his sister-in law Hannelore Reichstein Topol and her husband Jonathan V. Topol, many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews, and many loving friends. He was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Erna Reichstein Simon, and son-in-law William Card.
A Memorial Celebration of his life will be held at Unity of the Blue Ridge in Mills River, NC on Saturday, March 19, 2016 at 2 pm. The family will receive friends at a reception following the service, and all are welcome to celebrate his life with us.
Online condolences and comments may be made at: http://fred-a-simon.forevermissed.com
Please consider sharing stories of your times with Fred on the Stories tab here also.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Fred's name to the Boy Scouts of America, or to Boy Scout Troop 628 in Hendersonville, NC.