Barbara Lynne Bond Simon, 85, born on April 18, 1941, went home to Heaven on May 13, 2026. She died at her daughter’s home, after being ill for several months, with family by her side.
Barbara, known as Barbie when she was younger, was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Wanda Lee Chorek Bond, a Polish immigrant, and William Churchill Bond, whose ancestors arrived on the Mayflower. Barbara was the third of five children. She is predeceased by her parents, her beloved Aunt Sophie, her younger brother Richard “Rick” Bond, her ex-husband Thomas F. Simon, and several close friends.
Barbara grew up in Brentwood, Missouri where she and her best friend, Judy Geger, spent many hours playing outside in the woods near their homes. She attended Brentwood High School and graduated in 1959. During high school, she worked as a soda jerk and did some modeling for local department stores. She once met Tony Bennett who told her she was the prettiest girl in St. Louis. After graduation, she was offered a college art scholarship but chose to work instead. She married Tom Simon in 1963 and lived in Brentwood, Missouri. She had a daughter, Susan Lynne, in 1965 and a son, Joseph Patrick, in 1967.
In 1970 she moved to Kansas City to help care for her mother who was ill with cancer, and decided to stay and raise her children there. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Avila College in Kansas City and nearly completed her Master’s in Human Resources around 1981. She had a long and distinguished career as a Human Resources Director for various companies in Kansas City. Her favorite thing about her career was hiring people who she believed had potential but were overlooked by other employers. She was most proud of those hires who turned out to be excellent long-time employees, believing that they only needed someone to believe in them.
When she became a Grandma in 1988, Barbara took on the role with fresh enthusiasm and transitioned from the workforce in 1993 to pursue her painting and remodeling hobby, and to become the family babysitter. She was blessed with four grandchildren, and spent countless hours with them, creating unique memories with each one and helping them with whatever hobbies each had discovered. She also made a hand-finished quilt for each grandchild with a theme that fit their personality. She was known for buying the kids too much candy, putting too much sugar on their pancakes and generally having no boundaries but always saying yes to whenever their parents needed some help with the kids.
She was an amateur photographer and her grandkids were her favorite subjects. She spent a lot of one-on-one time with each grandchild, leaving them with many special memories. As the kids became teenagers, she still found a way to make memories with them including once donning her crosswalk police uniform (which she did part-time) to break up an unauthorized party being thrown by her oldest grandson when his parents were out of town.
Although she moved to Kansas City over fifty years ago, she always told people she was from St. Louis and enjoyed discussing anything St. Louis-related. She became a big fan of the St. Louis Blues hockey team after her son Joe started playing in an amateur hockey league and she attended his game. From that point on, the two would talk about every Blues game with him calling to remind her to watch. In 2009, she was thrilled and honored to plan the 50th Brentwood High School Reunion, for which she organized a sock hop at the local dance hall and a picnic at Forest Park. She also began interviewing classmates in advance of the reunion, then published stories about each one in a newsletter she created and mailed out to the class. She also wrote stories of growing up in Brentwood and added historical photos to the newsletters to make them interesting. She was very proud of her friends and classmates and tried to make everyone feel welcome, known and appreciated when they arrived at the reunion. She also called or emailed each classmate to make sure they were aware of the event.
Barbara enjoyed traveling to the Northeast with her dear friend Merriam Reichle, reading history books, gardening, sewing, quilting, going to estate sales, photography, writing, painting and being with her grandchildren. More than once she decided to recite from memory her favorite poem, “The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T. S. Eliot, at family gatherings when the room fell momentarily silent or if it was her birthday. It just became normal. She will be greatly missed but we are thankful for the Lord’s mercies and blessings in that we know she is free from physical pain and is joyful in the presence of her Savior and her dear mother whom she missed throughout her lifetime.
She leaves her daughter Sue Simon Becker of Leawood, Kansas, son Joseph Simon of Los Angeles, California, brother Bill Bond of Redding, California, sisters Marcia Bond Laacke of Redding, Debbie Bond of Kansas City, and grandchildren Joshua Becker (wife Moira McGraw) of Leawood, Grace Becker Hughlett of California, Joseph Becker (wife Emily MacPherson) of Billings, Montana, and Noah Becker of Phoenix, Arizona. She leaves her great-grandchildren Gianna Hughlett (5), Beau Becker (5), Charlie Becker (3) and Scarlett Becker (18 mos) each of whom helped her celebrate her 85th birthday last month with loud singing, cake and smiles. There will be a private family service celebrating Barbara’s life at her daughter’s home. Please celebrate her life by doing a specific act of kindness for an overlooked soul.
