Adieu, Barbara
This week, we said goodbye to our mother and dear friend, Barbara Simons. Barbara passed away on Saturday, September 16, 2023, in Portland, Oregon, at the age of 95. For those who knew her, we hope this remembrance sparks happy memories. And if you’re meeting Barbara for the first time, we’ll do our best to paint a picture you won’t soon forget.
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Born to Alberta and Dan Vianello in 1928, Barbara grew up in Linnton, a rustic community west of downtown Portland, Oregon. Her family home was nestled on a hill with dramatic sunrise views of the Willamette River and the Cascade mountains to the east. Not that Barbara cared that much for sunrises—they happen way too early in the day. She was more of a sunset kind of gal.
Growing up with Forest Park as her backyard, Barbara developed a deep love for nature and animals at a tender age. Some of her earliest memories revolved around walking in the woods, picking flowers, playing with kitties, and harvesting fruit and vegetables in the family’s orchard and garden. Barbara attended Roosevelt High School, and she often walked to school across the St. Johns Bridge, which was nearly brand-new at the time. After graduating high school in 1946, she continued her studies at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology. Barbara married Walter Simons in 1953. The two had met in high school and developed a partnership that endured until his death in 1989. Together they raised 2 kids, and taught them some of life’s most important lessons: Work hard, play fair, and do the right thing; If given the choice between cats and dogs, choose both; And never, ever, turn your back on the ocean. When the kids were young, Barbara was a homemaker, and she helped make ends meet financially as an “Avon lady.” She’d tuck her daughter in a stroller and together they’d canvas the neighborhood, leaving little catalogs in their wake. Ironically, it was only later that she discovered the perfect marketing opportunity: You could spell Buy Avon with the family’s phone number. 
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She also served on school PTA boards, led groups of Camp Fire Girls, and became a 4H leader for a short time. Neighborhood kids were ever-present at her dining room table for singalongs, craft projects, and the occasional messy, sometimes explosive, science experiment. Some might even remember her by the name she chose when she was a counselor at Camp Tolinda, a Camp Fire Girls day camp off Germantown Road. That name was "Red Feather," an homage to her fondness for birds and the color red.
When the kids were older, Barbara and Walter opened a retail store in the neighborhood of Kenton, where they sold wallpaper and house plants for several years. Fittingly, the building has since been converted into a public library in the revitalized historic district.
Barbara finished her working career as an administrator in the signature room of the Portland Veterans Administration Medical Center, where she delighted in expanding her vocabulary to include obscure medical terminology and phrases. After she retired from the VA, she traveled the world with her sister, Elizabeth. They took many trips across the continental US, visited Hawaii and the Cook Islands, went on several cruises, and even made it to Australia, where she got to play with a real live Koala.
Barbara finished her working career as an administrator in the signature room of the Portland Veterans Administration Medical Center, where she delighted in expanding her vocabulary to include obscure medical terminology and phrases. After she retired from the VA, she traveled the world with her sister, Elizabeth. They took many trips across the continental US, visited Hawaii and the Cook Islands, went on several cruises, and even made it to Australia, where she got to play with a real live Koala.
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Her love of music led her to join the University of Portland’s community choir, and Rose City Singers, where she shared her beautiful soprano voice, and made lifelong friendships. An avid reader, Barbara loved words and was known for a marvelous rendition of the spoonerism, “Rindercella and the Prandsom Hince,” which she performed for her music club. She had an off-beat wicked sense of humor and a love of irony, which were cherished and adored by family and friends.
She was a long-time volunteer at many community and arts organizations, including Friends of Columbia Park, The Portland Center for the Performing Arts (PCPA), The Portland Art Museum, Art in the Pearl, and many other festivals and events. She also gave freely of her time to the Catlin Gabel Rummage Sale “sort center,” where she found treasure both in the donations she helped to sort and the friendships that she made. And, as a foster mom for the Oregon Humane Society, she welcomed many lucky kittens into her home for a spell (and somehow managed to keep just three or four). |
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Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, Alberta and Dan Vianello; her husband Walter Simons; and her sister Elizabeth Horn. She’s survived by her son, Bruce Simons, of Portland, Oregon; her daughter, Katherine “Kate” Wilcox and Kate’s husband Ken, of Carmel, California; as well as dear friends Linda Minard, Rita Peacock, and Laraine Vonfeldt of Portland, Oregon; nieces Linda Simons Dorton (Charlie) and Rebecca Shoemaker Wahl (Lloyd); nephew George Simons; and cousin Cal Alsleben (Barbara).
The family sends all our love to caregivers Beti, Sami, Lorena, and Wendy, as well as the folks from Bristol Hospice, Dawn, Becky, Tina, Colin, and Katie, for the kindness they showed to Barbara and her family while she was under their care. And special thanks to Carol, Charity, Sarah, and Melissa for providing spiritual comfort and metaphysical support in Barbara’s final weeks.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you have a walk in the woods, take a stroll on the beach, or pet a kitty, and remember Barbara. Or maybe just sleep in, on a bright sunny morning, dreaming of your happy place, preferably with a warm kitty purring beside you.
The family sends all our love to caregivers Beti, Sami, Lorena, and Wendy, as well as the folks from Bristol Hospice, Dawn, Becky, Tina, Colin, and Katie, for the kindness they showed to Barbara and her family while she was under their care. And special thanks to Carol, Charity, Sarah, and Melissa for providing spiritual comfort and metaphysical support in Barbara’s final weeks.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you have a walk in the woods, take a stroll on the beach, or pet a kitty, and remember Barbara. Or maybe just sleep in, on a bright sunny morning, dreaming of your happy place, preferably with a warm kitty purring beside you.
A memorial service will be held at a later date for family and friends. To sign Barbara’s guest book, and get updates on the service, please visit Barbara's page on the Skyline Memorial website.
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