Tinkering with electronics was his favourite thing to do. He also enjoyed gardening, cooking, riding motorbikes (in his younger years), listening to and making music, and winding people up!
Simon was born and grew up in England, with an American father (who served in the USAF) and a British mother. He liked getting into trouble as a teen and was always playing pranks on others. His first job (and maybe the one he was best at) was selling Hi-Fi systems in a shop. He was an exceptional salesman due to his convincing nature. He eventually decided to join the USAF, like his father, which led to him moving around the states, then to Germany, and back to the states where he retired and settled for a number of years. He had 3 children, all of whom he loved more than anything. He then chose to return to the UK in 2012, where he remained until his death.
Simon has always had an interest in space, and especially Sci-Fi. Star Trek was one of his favourites, so it is quite fitting that he will be sent up along with the creator and cast members. He didn’t care much about what happened to him after death, only that he be sent into space. He’d always wished he could’ve gone to space, hoping that some of the private options for spaceflight would become available during his lifetime. Unfortunately this didn’t happen, but his DNA now will be sent into deep space. Who knows where it may end up. The flight message is a reference to what he said in his wish about going to space after death, that maybe he will land on a planet somewhere, and they will clone his DNA. There could be a planet of mini Simon clones out there one day, which would be quite weird!
He was a weird man though. To end this short biography, here’s a poem he wrote:
Pulled out a piece of my tooth tonight, been there for 55 years plus doing its thing to chew up my food ready to swallow. Poor tooth all these decades past only to be pryed out with a cheap pair of Chinese tweezers fit for another purpose. What a fitting end to a long purposeful life of indentured servitude. What must it feel like to be a tooth. Your whole life grinding away continuously, only to be discarded at will without any after thought. I commend you tooth for a life of slavery to food and I respect you for your tremendous strength throughout the years, thank you for being there for me, only to complain when you are so worn out and broken you have no choice, thank you tooth, you won't be forgotten
