Leroy Simons

LeRoy H. Simons, father and tinkerer, aged 101 years, died peacefully in his sleep at home in Bastrop, Texas on September 18, 2020 having been in the wonderful care of his son and daughter-in-law, Allen B. and Candace Simons.  He was predeceased by his wife of 64 years, Marjorie Emiline Moeller Simons and by his brother, Gerald E. Simons of Houston.  Mr. Simons is also survived by a brother, Donald F. Simons of San Antonio, sons Leslie H. Simons (Gael) of Austin and Roger D. Simons (Meg) of Bull Shoals, Arkansas as well as seven nieces, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

LeRoy was born in El Paso, August 6, 1919, and grew up in Houston during the time of the Great Depression. His college education was interrupted by 3 yeas of service in the U. S. Army during World War II. Under the GI Bill he completed his BS in physics from the University of Houston in January 1947 and then went on to earn his MS degree in Physics from Texas A&M in January 1949.

He worked for Humble Oil (which became Exxon) in various Research Engineering roles in the Production Research Department for 29 years (acquiring a patent for his “Simon’s Simple Super Sample Snatcher”).  He retired in 1978 but being a hard worker, he often spent evenings working on TV and electronics repair.  Also, he developed his own black and white photographs.  Many weekends were spent working on projects at his parents’, Clarence and Lela Simons, retirement ranch in Bastrop as well as constructing a 2-bedroom weekend house for Marjorie and himself.

The family would like to give a very special thank you to Maria Perez and Monica Perez both of whom provided years of remarkably special care for LeRoy.