Lawrence “Larry” Simons, of Mukwonago, passed away Nov. 22, 2021, at 91. Larry was born in Red Mound, Wisconsin, on March 22, 1930, to Peter and Agnes (Dwyer) Simons. He attended elementary school in Viroqua and went on to graduate from LaCrosse Aquinas High School in 1948. Larry served in the US Army in Korea from 1951-1953 as an instructor for basic education and also as a volunteer English tutor to Korean high school students in Inchon, Korea. As Larry left Korea, he sponsored one of his students, Joe Choi. He helped Joe move to Wisconsin, where he later graduated from UW-LaCrosse with a degree in French. Joe eventually returned to Korea but became an important member of the Simons family.
Larry graduated from UW-LaCrosse with a degree in secondary education in 1956. He worked as a high school speech and English teacher in Mosinee, Wisconsin, for 11 years, where he also served as an advisor for many school activities, including the National Honor Society, Forensics Speech and Debate team, Student Council, and AFS Intercultural Programs working directly with foreign exchange students.
During the summer of 1965, Larry taught English as a second language to the migrant workers in central Wisconsin within the Waupaca area. In 1967, he moved to Kettle Moraine High School in Wales, Wisconsin, where he taught speech and English for the next 26 years and again lead the National Honor Society, Forensics, Student Council and AFS. It was in Mosinee where Larry met the lovely Edith Haas, who taught English and math. One day, Larry accidentally hid her grade book and she got in big trouble for losing it. That inadvertent prank sparked a relationship of true love. They married on August 3, 1968.
Larry retired from teaching in 1993. After retirement, he served as the manager for the high school foreign exchange program Educational Resource Development Trust for seven years. The Simons family hosted students from Brazil and Italy throughout the years and enjoyed communicating with and visiting those students in their home countries. Larry was a longtime member of the Whitewater Gourmet Club and volunteered for Interfaith and Waukesha County, where he assisted with the Meals on Wheels program and youth guardianship programs. For eight years, Larry enjoyed being the guardian for a special-needs student who kept him very busy. Larry was also a devoted member of the Mukwonago Optimist Club for many years.
In June of 2017, Larry was honored by Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Inc. a Milwaukee-based organization committed to honoring WWII, Korean, and Vietnam veterans with trips to Washington, D.C. to visit memorials and experience a day of honor and thanks. He cherished the experience and often re-read letters from his friends and family given during “mail call” on the airplane.
Larry was an avid reader and loved to spend time with his family. Travel was an important part of his life. He took his family all over the United States each summer in the family station wagon and traded their timeshare for exotic locations each year.
Larry was preceded in death by his brother Frank Simons and sister, Margaret Finn. Larry was deeply loved and will be missed terribly by his wife, Edie, of 53 years, and his three children, Matt Simons (Helen), Gina Minamyer, and Kat Hammond (Dimitrice), and grandchildren Annabel, Sam, Erinn, Logan, and Riley. Visitation services will take place at St. James Catholic Church (830 E. Veteran’s Way. Mukwonago) on December 6th at 1 pm with a funeral mass to follow at 2:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Simons Scholarship Fund at Mukwonago High School or to Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Inc.
