Mary Ernestine Simon

We love you Mama, and we will miss you till we meet again in the glory of Heaven.

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Dedicated to Mama

One Saturday, in the early eighties, John and Mama Simon were shopping, and an irate parker called her a “bad” word. John ordered the moron to apologise. The idiot refused to. John Simon Sr. came home to the Club, with a proud spine and a black eye, having decked, with one punch, the man who dared to insult his wife.
I can’t say how many of you gathered here today loved Mama Simon as their second Mom, but

One Saturday, in the early eighties, John and Mama Simon were shopping, and an irate parker called her a “bad” word. John ordered the moron to apologise. The idiot refused to. John Simon Sr. came home to the Club, with a proud spine and a black eye, having decked, with one punch, the man who dared to insult his wife.
I can’t say how many of you gathered here today loved Mama Simon as their second Mom, but you all know who you are. She raised her boys, all of you, my four girls, and she was my Mama too. She was a devoted Grandmother and a magnificent Great Grandmother, but mostly she was a true Southern Belle.
A Steel Magnolia of the highest caliber. God broke the mold when he made you, my tiny Mama. No one can ever take your place. You have finally laid down the burdens of this world, loathe as you were to leave us. Now is your time to dance in Heaven with John, Jesus, and all the angels who pale in your shadow.
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The three boys began their lives with their current Christian names, but originally ALL bore the moniker Peter, after “Peter Rabbit” of the Beatrix Potter stories. John Senior finally gave in to the inevitability that one of his sons would be named after a bunny rabbit, and Mama got her favorite, Pete.
Being the only female in an all male household was not easy, but Mama was tougher than the three red blooded American males she raised. Once, when

The three boys began their lives with their current Christian names, but originally ALL bore the moniker Peter, after “Peter Rabbit” of the Beatrix Potter stories. John Senior finally gave in to the inevitability that one of his sons would be named after a bunny rabbit, and Mama got her favorite, Pete.
Being the only female in an all male household was not easy, but Mama was tougher than the three red blooded American males she raised. Once, when John and Tom were teenage males (with fists of steel) boxing from one end of the house to another, Mama stopped them both COLD in their tracks by grabbing the poor dog, placing a kitchen knife to the its poor canine neck and proclaiming: “The next one throws a punch and the dog gets it!” Stunned silence.
When I first met the wonderful woman who was to become my true Mama, she was, at St. John the Devine, the heart of the Ruth Society, Ladies Sewing Circle and Terrorist Society. Mama sewed quilts, decorated the altar, ran the bazaars and carried the torch. She was your go-to girl. She was a Lady of grace, faith, hope and unending kindness.
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My Dearest Mama;
We have come here today to honor YOU, the most extraordinary of extraordinary woman.
Mama, Mary Ernestine Kissner Simon, was born in Paris, Mississippi, a rural town so small that the General Store really WAS the post office. As a child, she picked cotton on a farm, taking turns with HER mama, carrying her little sister Christine strapped to her back under a broiling sun. She told me that on the hottest days, she

My Dearest Mama;
We have come here today to honor YOU, the most extraordinary of extraordinary woman.
Mama, Mary Ernestine Kissner Simon, was born in Paris, Mississippi, a rural town so small that the General Store really WAS the post office. As a child, she picked cotton on a farm, taking turns with HER mama, carrying her little sister Christine strapped to her back under a broiling sun. She told me that on the hottest days, she and the others would sit on the burlap bales of cotton and pee into them to bring the weight up, something only learned the hard way in the southern school of hard knocks. Mama and her siblings all had working shoes, but between her and her sister, the first one up and dressed wore the “good shoes” to church. When Mama came up to the big city, Chicago, to earn a living she was all of eighteen and ninety pounds soaking wet. Mama worked, as I do, as a legal secretary. With every paycheck, she bought a new pair of shoes. A tailor she walked by on her way to work made lovely dresses for her tiny little bird frame, just for her. She was that sweet and that pretty.
She was between eighteen and nineteen, living in her first apartment, a three story walk up, when the second floor neighbors came up to her in the middle of the night, the wife in extreme labor, asking for help. Mama delivered the baby while awaiting the ambulance. She knew nothing about delivering babies, but was always a person everyone knew they could instinctively trust. She never let anyone down.
When John Simon first met her, he knew she was the only woman for him. Her pursued and won her, with neither John nor Ernestine ever loving anyone else but each other. John thought that Ernestine was the most beautiful woman in his world. They married, bore and raised three strapping young sons, proud of their family and strong in their church.
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Dearest Grandma Pumpkin, I will always remember your warm smile and your laugh,which lit up the room. Thank you for all the storys of our family and your love. Go be with Grandpa. Cathi

Dearest Grandma Pumpkin, I will always remember your warm smile and your laugh,which lit up the room. Thank you for all the storys of our family and your love. Go be with Grandpa. Cathi

There is something special about a Grandmothers Love. You will never be forgotten in my heart. Until we meet again, I will love you always and forever! I love you grandma. Karen

Dear second "Mom", You were my best friend and you will remain in my Heart Forever. Until we are together again. Love, Linda

Peter, I am so sorry to hear of your mother's passing. I will always remember her as a generous and kind woman who put up with a lot from a bunch of rambunctious boys, and on heck of a gardener. I wish you and your family peace.

Sending you guys lots of love and prayers. So sorry for the loss of one of the most wonderful and sweetest women I have ever been privileged and blessed to know. Rest in Peace Grandma Simon.