Elaine S. Simons

Elaine Sylvia Simons, of Peabody, formally of Swampscott and Lake Worth, Florida entered into rest on January 9, 2022 at the age of 95. The beloved wife of the late Shepherd Simons, Elaine was the devoted mother of Bill Simons and his wife Nancy Simons of Oneonta, New York and Jo Ann Simons and her husband, Chet Derr of Swampscott. She was the loving sister of the late Lucille (Kahan) Benson and her late husband, Benjamin; cherished grandmother of Jonathan Derr, Emily Derr and her husband, Brent Markus, and Joseph Simons and his wife, Lynette; and adored great-grandmother of Lily, Hannah, Isaac and Daniel Simons and Nathan, Asher and Cooper Markus. She also leaves her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Alan and Sheila Simons and many nieces and nephews. When her first grandchild, Jonathan, was born with Down syndrome, Elaine became a critical and important part of his life and his success in becoming independent.

Elaine was born on September 6, 1926 to Samuel Kahan and his dear wife, Zelda (Fein) in New York City. Elaine lived in many different towns throughout the country before settling in Beachmont. After graduating from Revere High School, and during World War II she worked at the South Boston Naval Annex. When the war ended, Elaine worked for Combined Jewish Philanthropies and began a lifelong commitment to the Jewish community.

In 1948,she met a young and handsome Army veteran, Shepherd Simons, on a blind date arranged by friends. They wed 12 week later and enjoyed nearly 69 years of marriage. At key intervals, Elaine, assisted her husband in the family business, Simons Shoes and then Simons Uniforms in Lynn.

She and her husband were original members of Temple Emanuel and leaders in the establishment of the Jewish Community Center’s move from Lynn to Marblehead. She was the first woman elected to serve as vice president of both the Jewish Community Center and the Jewish of Federation of the North Shore. She spent hours as a public speaker raising the funds for the campaign for the JCC’s Marblehead facility. Elaine was also president of the Swampscott-Marblehead chapter of B’nai B’rith.

She was devoted to exercise and her pace of long walks along the Swampscott/Lynn beaches and in Florida were hard to keep up with. Before spending their winters in Florida, Elaine and Shep traveled widely, including several trips to Israel, where she remained cool when mortar fire rocked her bus. She was a devoted and avid bridge player and she and Shep enjoyed many years of golf as members of Kernwood Country Club in Salem and The Fountains Country Club in Lake Worth, Florida. Always a veracious reader, she read 4-5 books a week during COVID.

Throughout her life in Swampscott, Florida and at her last home at Brooksby Village, she was always surrounded by a large group of friends. We are grateful for the loving care she received in her last years by Sakina Akoush and for the recent support of Care Dimensions.

Her family, friends and her connections to the community will always be part of her lasting legacy.

Services will be held at the Brooksby Village Chapel at 100 Brooksby Village Dr, Peabody, MA 01960 at 12:00 PM on Wednesday January 12th, 2022. For those joining virtually please go to Elaine's Obituary on the Stanetsky- Hymanson Memorial Chapel website. Interment will follow at Temple Emanu-El Memorial Park, Danvers. Memorial observance following the internment from 2:00PM to 6:00PM at the Spinelli's on 10 Newbury St, Peabody, MA 01960. COVID restrictions will be adhered to and all will be required to wear masks and maintain social distancing. In lieu of flowers, expression of sympathy in her memory may be sent to the Simons-Derr Inclusion Fund at the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore, 1 Community Road, Marblehead, MA or by visiting https://jccns.org/donate/