Robert E. Simon

Robert Edmund Simon, Jr. (April 10, 1914 – September 21, 2015) was an American real estate entrepreneur, most known for founding the community of Reston, Virginia.[1][2][3] He was the maternal uncle of feminist historian and writer Elizabeth Fox-Genovese.[4]

Robert E. Simon
Born
Robert E. Simon, Jr.

(1914-04-10)April 10, 1914
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedSeptember 21, 2015(2015-09-21) (aged 101)
Reston, Virginia, U.S.
EducationHorace Mann School
Alma materHarvard University (1931–1935)
OccupationReal estate entrepreneur
Years active1946–2015
Known forFounding Reston, Virginia
Spouse(s)Anne Wertheim Langman (divorced)
Cheryl Terio-Simon
Children1 daughter
FamilyElizabeth Fox-Genovese (niece)

Early life

Simon was born in New York City in 1914,[5] the son of Robert Sr. and Elsa Weil Simon,[6] immigrants from Germany.[7] He was raised in Manhattan along with his four siblings.[6] He was of Jewish descent.[8]

Reston
A statue of Robert E. Simon sits on a bench next to Lake Anne.

After graduating from Harvard University, Simon took over the family real estate management and development business. In 1961, with the proceeds from the sale of a family property, Carnegie Hall, Simon purchased 6,750 acres (27 km²) of land in Fairfax County, Virginia and hired Conklin + Rossant[9] to develop a master plan for the new town of Reston, Virginia, a planned community well known on the national level. (The town's name was derived from Simon's initials and the word "town".)[3][10] Simon's new town concept emphasized quality of life for the individual and provided a community where people could live, work, and play without driving long distances.

Simon returned to live in an apartment near Lake Anne in Reston in 1993[10] and helped celebrate Reston's 40th birthday in 2004.[11] In that same year a bronze statue of Simon was placed on a park bench in Washington Plaza on Lake Anne, the original heart of the community he built.[3][11]

A collection of Simon's donated materials is housed at the Specials Collections Research Center at the George Mason University Libraries.

Personal life

Simon married four times.[6] He was married to author and environmentalist Anne Wertheim Langman, daughter of Maurice Wertheim, and granddaughter of Henry Morgenthau Sr.[12]

He died in Reston, Virginia in September 2015 at the age of 101.[13] He was survived by his fourth wife (married 2004), Cheryl Terio-Simon; a daughter, Margo Prescott-Morris her 2 children (Robert's grandchildren) Christine Doolin, Noah Prescott along with great-grandchildren Sara Collier, Austin Ingram, Ashton Prescott and 8 great-great grandchildren. Also his six stepchildren, Karen Terio, Betsy Langman Schulberg (married and divorced from Budd Schulberg), Deborah Langman Lesser, Lucinda Zilk, Tom Langman, and Adam Terio.[6][14][15]

References
  1. McFadden, Robert D. (September 21, 2015). "Robert E. Simon Jr., Who Created a Town, Reston, Va., Dies at 101". The New York Times. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  2. Morello, Carol (March 25, 2004). "At Home With His Creation". Washington Post. p. T8.
  3. "A Brief History of Reston". RestonMuseum.org. Reston Historic Trust. Retrieved June 30, 2013. Original work: Gulf Reston, Inc (1970). A Brief History of Reston, Virginia.
  4. Fox and Simon Family Papers, 1862–1991, UNC.
  5. "House Joint Resolution No. 1009, Commending Robert E. Simon". Commonwealth of Virginia. February 28, 2009. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  6. Marks, Josh (September 30, 2015). "Reston founder Robert E. Simon Jr. dies at 101". Washington Jewish Week.
  7. "Douglas Ambrose", Christendom Review, 1 (2).
  8. Jackman, Tom (March 29, 2014). "As Reston turns 50, founder Robert Simon looks ahead, celebrates his own milestone". The Washington Post. In the beginning, there were 6,750 acres of trees, fields, and cows — and a self-described "Jewish guy from Manhattan"...
  9. "James Rossant - Architect". December 17, 2005. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
  10. McKeon, Nancy (August 16, 1999). "A Town Grows in Fairfax". Washington Post. p. A1. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  11. "Reston Celebrates 40 Years!". Myers Public Relations. April 14, 2004. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  12. Saxon, Wolfgang (July 31, 1996). "Anne Simon, Who Wrote Threats to the Sea". The New York Times. She was married three times and had taken the surname of her last husband, Prof. Walter Werner, while keeping her pen name. He died in 1986. Her previous marriages, to Dr. Louis Langman and Robert E. Simon, ended in divorce
  13. "Robert E. Simon, 101, Reston Founder, Dies". www.connectionnewspapers.com.
  14. "Michael Lesser Weds Deborah W. Langman". The New York Times. April 7, 1969.
  15. Sonnenthal, Valerie (September 6, 2017). "Tom Langman, man of Menemsha - Fifty years of fishing and life in Chilmark". Martha's Vineyard Times.
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