Enid Simon of Madison, passed away on February 23, 2018. She was born on November 28, 1935, in Antigo, WI, daughter of Leonard and June Simon.
Enid spent her childhood on the family farmstead in Summit Township in Langlade County, Wisconsin, with her sisters and cousins. After graduating from Antigo high school, Enid attended Valparaiso University for two years, moving to Madison in 1960 where she spent the rest of her life.
She began work at the College of Engineering Library at the University of Wisconsin. While working at the University she earned her bachelor’s degree in History and Psychology and an MS degree in Library Science. She stayed at the Engineering library for 37 years, retiring in 1998 as a Senior Academic Librarian and one of Wendt Library’s two Associate Librarians responsible for the day-to-day operation of the library. In 1996 she was awarded the College of Engineering’s Bollinger Academic Staff Award for her 35 years of dedicated service. The Bollinger Award highlighted Enid’s many accomplishments, including her major role in planning for the Kurt F. Wendt Library building, which opened in 1976; her coordination of collection development in engineering and related subjects; and her role in representing Wendt Library on various campus-wide library committees and councils.
Enid loved nature, walking in the woods and traveling the backroads of her beloved Wisconsin countryside, recording its beauty with her camera. Enid also travelled, visiting England several times as well as Greece and Italy. She was an active member of Plato, focusing on reminiscence writing and serving on the board of The Agora journal. Enid spent time with her large, extended family, and served as the family historian and record-keeper for the Simon clan. She knew all the cousins and what was going on in their lives. She rarely missed the annual family reunion. She was always working on a jigsaw puzzle and reading a mystery novel, and she watched MASH at every opportunity.
Enid made friends wherever she went, and was a devoted, kind and thoughtful friend. She was a regular presence in the lives of her nieces and nephews, a generous and loving aunt. She will be missed by many.
Enid was preceded in death by her parents and her sisters, Shirley Johnson and Roberta (Bobbe) Krismer. She is survived by her nieces and nephews, Katharine Johnson (West Chester, PA), Steven Johnson (Sturgeon Bay, WI), Charles Johnson (Minneapolis, MN) and Margaret Seizer (Sturgeon Bay, WI), grand- nieces and nephews and cousins across Wisconsin and around the world. A visitation will be planned in Madison later in the spring. Enid will be buried near her parents in the Town of Summit Cemetery in Langlade County. Memorials may be made to The Nature Conservancy and mailed to: Charles Johnson, 4941 17th Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55417. The gifts will be directed to the Nature Conservancy’s work in Wisconsin.