Lenore 'Nonie' Simons, 100
Longtime Whitefish resident Lenore “Nonie” Simons died peacefully at home on Jan. 15, 2011, just a few months after turning 100 years old.
Nonie was born in Villard, Minn., May 18, 1910, on a lovely farm where her father had one of the mechanized farms of the day with gas engines running milking machines, cream separators, corn shuckers and even the washing machine. Nonie’s father also owned one of the first John Deere Implement businesses and sold the first Maytag washers.
Nonie remembers riding to school with her brother, Jack, in a two-seat carriage pulled by her white pony, Maud. Nonie finished school at St. Ben’s Academy in St. Cloud, Minn. She was the valedictorian of her class.
After graduation, Nonie and three friends went to New York City. Nonie worked for the Irving Trust Company until 1931, when she was hired by the Girl Scouts of America to work as secretary to Tess Carter, head of the organization.
While at the Girl Scouts, she had wonderful adventures and loved the experiences of meeting many famous people of the day, including President Hoover’s wife, Lou, who is one of the people credited with starting the Girl Scouts of America. She also met and worked with the wife of President Harding and met Eleanor Roosevelt.
On a summer vacation in Minnesota, Nonie met and married Richard “Dick” Simons. Dick taught and coached in several towns in Minnesota before they relocated to Whitefish.
After having four children, Nonie returned to the working world in 1958. She worked at the John B. Simons Hospital, eventually handling insurance, billing and then Medicare when it started in 1964. Nonie began typing medical records when doctors began using a Dictaphone to record their medical records in the mid-1960s. When she retired from the hospital, renamed North Valley Hospital, she began working for the Whitefish Clinic. Dr. Ricker has been quoted saying, “Nonie never had a misspelled word, and that was before ‘spell check.’” Nonie finally retired from this job, which she loved, in 1985.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Dick Simons; her mother and father; two brothers, and one sister.
She is succeeded by Molly Young and Mert, Joanie Sorensen and Scott, Henry and Jackie Simons, and Barbara Simons; eight grandchildren, Scottie and Kaori Sorensen, Shawn and Donna Sorensen, Chris and Todd Anderson, Michael and Kristen Simons, Josh Young and Dallas, Ian Young and Chrissann, Alexandra Appleton and Abraham, and Carl Appleton; and six great-grandchildren, Teresa and Kyle Sorensen, Alliya and Kassydee Anderson, Evelyn and Connor Young, Sam Simons and Naomi Appleton.
She was loved and admired by all, especially her children, Joanie and Scott Sorensen, Molly Young and Mert Little, Henry and Jackie Simons, and Barbara Simons, who invite all friends to the funeral services at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 20, at St. Charles Catholic Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the mission at Los Amigos in Chimbote, Peru, or Soroptimist International of Whitefish.
In her last years, Nonie appreciated the many visits from family and friends, her little dog Mitzi, a Thursday visit from Cy Appel who brought Communion and prayer, and her beloved Connie Kenfield, her joyful friend and helper.