OBITUARY: Henry ‘Hank’ Michael Simon, 72, of Palm Bay, Passed Away Peacefully December 10

was a driving force in the local Jewish community

BREVARD COUNTY • PALM BAY, FLORIDA – Henry “Hank” Michael Simon, age 72 of Palm Bay Florida, passed peacefully in the comfort of his own home on December 10, 2019, surrounded by his loving family.

Hank is survived by his wife of 42 years, Helene; daughters Merryll, Marni, and Mikki; his sons-in-law Jason and Rick; his grandchildren Ashley, Dan, PJ, Abbi, Liam, Issy and Callen; his siblings Philip Simon and Shari Simon; and his pugs Zoey and Augie.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut on March 30, 1947, Hank was raised in Moodus, CT, the oldest of four born to Isidore and Ada T. Simon.

He graduated from Wagner College with a B.S. in Economics in 1969 and was honorably discharged from the United States Army. While in Connecticut he was a volunteer EMT, a Freemason, and a Shriner.

Hank moved to Palm Bay, Florida in 1988 and dedicated his time to the community he made his home. His involvement spanned several decades and included two-terms as Palm Bay City Council member, Head of the Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce, member of the Brevard County Commission Planning and Zoning Board, President of Kiwanis (Palm Bay), member of the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity of Brevard County, and President of the Melbourne Civic Theatre.

He was a member of both the Jewish War Veterans (Post 639) and the American Legion (Post 117), and an appointed member of the U.S. Selective Service local board. Additionally, Hank, together with his wife Helene, were grief counselors with the Florida SIDS Alliance for 25 years.

For many years he was an active member of the Rotary Club, for which he served as both President of the Palm Bay club and Assistant Governor for District 6930.

Outside of his community service and charity work, Hank was an entrepreneur and an artist. He owned and ran several businesses, including Tudor Egg Farm (Durham, CT), Mikki’s Spirit Shoppe (Farmington, CT) and H. Simon Consulting (Palm Bay, FL).

He had a passion for photography, drawing, and jewelry making. More than once, he combined his artistic talents with his love of business, most recently with his online jewelry business HM Simon Creations.

Hank was a driving force in the local Jewish community as a Past-President and founding member of Congregation Mateh Chaim (Palm Bay) and a member of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Brevard. He and his wife, Helene, recently became members of Temple Beth Shalom (Melbourne).

The memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on December 13, 2019, at Temple Beth Shalom (5995 N Wickham Rd, Melbourne, FL 32940). In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, HERE or the Rotary Club of Palm Bay (P.O. Box 060357, Palm Bay, FL 32906-0357).

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