Simeon Garstang Jones

Link to tribute video:

SIMEON GARSTANG JONES, 52, went to be with Jesus on March 11,
2023. Sim, as his family and friends knew him, was from Northwest
England and spent the last 28 years of his life living and working in the
United States.

He visited England frequently over the years choosing to keep his
British Citizenship. However, during his first year in the U.S., when a
long-awaited package arrived, Sim’s initial response was to say, “Cool,”
and so began his adventure-filled journey as an English American who
received and returned great blessings in his adopted homeland.
After receiving his master’s degree in mathematics from the University
of Florida, Sim relocated to Georgia, along with his wife, Genevieve, as
both were recruited to teach in Fulton County Schools. Uniquely, Sim
spent his entire teaching career of 27 years at the same school: Milton
High School in Milton, GA.

Sim first graduated from Lancaster University in the North of England
with a degree in Philosophy in 1994. It was there he met his American
“wife to be” during a “Ballroom Society” dance class. It was love at first
dance as he tried to teach Genevieve a complicated Samba sequence in
which she stepped all over his black suede boots…boots they kept and
treasured as a memory of the night that began a 30-year bond of
friendship, love, and marriage.

Before they began their master’s programs together at UF, they first got
married on New Year’s Day, 1995, in her hometown of Boynton Beach,
Florida. They wanted to be married by her Spiritual Mother & Father,
Mrs. Sally and Reverend Charles E. Brannon at Gateway Community
Church that was temporarily meeting in a movie theater in Boynton.
Without knowing it, Sim and Gen set their destiny in motion by making
the theme of their wedding one related to Literature and The Arts.

Their wedding invitation was the balcony scene from Romeo & Juliet,
while the ceremony took place in a small movie theater turned wedding
chapel with the usual accoutrements of red roses, candelabra, white
runner, tulle bows along isle seats, live shrubs as background, and the
full theater screen had a beautiful photo of The Holy Bible, flowers, and
entwined wedding rings.

The ceremony began with a dedication to her Daddy who went to
Heaven in 1989 with a song “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,”
from her favorite musical “Phantom of the Opera.” The Bridesmaids,
Flower Girl, and Bride entered to music from a French movie Sim and
Gen discovered together in England, called Tous Le Matins Du Monde,
“All the Mornings of the World.”

The guests then followed the “stage directions” to attend the post
wedding “cast party“ where the newly married husband and wife
revisited their Ballroom beginnings with an impromptu “Cha—Cha-Cha”
segment for their family and friends. The 28 years that followed were
filled with every kind of involvement and enjoyment of The Arts, from
Carmina Burana to the Black Veil Brides, as it became a part of who
they were individually and as a couple, and for personal entertainment
and as part of their teaching careers.

It was a blessing from God, when Sim received an offer to teach at
Milton High School as a Mathematics Teacher. Little did he know then
how his career there would last and grow into something even he had
never dreamed possible. He discovered multiple talents and abilities
which he invested a great deal of effort in developing, as he preferred
to do things well and best. In fact, those who knew and loved Sim are
immensely proud of all he accomplished both as a Math Teacher and as
the Technical Director for the MHS Theater Department and even his
helping other Community Arts programs.

In every aspect of his life and career, Sim was someone who always
strove to live a life filled with love, kindness, dedication, and integrity.
Those close to him can attest that he wanted his mental and moral
character to always be beyond reproach, while freely acknowledging his
own humanity: even still he worked to always be better tomorrow than
he was yesterday. It was his generous and humble nature, even when
at the top of his game, which attracted people to him.
A beautiful bow on God’s gift of Simeon Garstang Jones’ talents to the
world is best explained by Proverbs 22:1, “A good name is more
desirable than great riches; to be esteemed (greatly respected and
admired) is better than silver or gold.”

Sim was predeceased by his beloved parents Mrs. Monica and Dr. Percy
Jones, of Northwest England, and his loving Aunt Dorothy Jones from
Northern Wales.

Sim’s closest remaining family and friends who mourn his premature
passing include his:
Wife of 28 years, Genevieve Spielman Jones; they only ever called one
another by their “pet names…she was his “Darling” and he was her
“Honey.” Only in reference to others did they ever use their formal
names. It was a bond of friendship and love that lasted 30 years, until
only by “death, did they part.” Brother, Rupert Jones, of Northwest England, whose

response upon receiving the news of his brother’s tragic passing was “I’m very proud of
Sim and with all the things he achieved in his life.”
Brother-in-Law, Robert Spielman of North Carolina.
Best Friend, David Hodges & his talented wife, Milla. Sim acknowledged
David at his final Shuler Awards Ceremony in 2022, as “my collaborator,my friend;

 we work seamlessly together.” Milla kindly helped Mrs.
Jones to tackle the paperwork.
Colleague, Drew Bowers, Director of Choral Activities at MHS kindly
offered and produced a Memorial event for Sim in the school Gym on
4-16-23 with everyone welcome to attend.
Fur-Babies, the cats he and Gen affectionately call “The Kids,” as they
have no children: Kiki, Snuggles, and Tigger, the Daddy’s Boy, who still
lies on the foyer rug waiting for his “Da Da” to come home.
*In Memory of Jack Schmidt, with Love and Gratitude, as he made
Genevieve’s two years at Lancaster University in England possible, thus
helping to make the entire production of Sim’s life a reality.

A precious baby boy from Merseyside crossed The Pond, became a
Man, a Husband, a Fur Dad, a Teacher, a Tech Director, a Friend, and a
Help, a Heart, and a Hope for too many to even count; then he hid the
pain of giving away more than he had to give, and his big, beautiful,
loving heart beat no more, and home he went to Heaven, too young,
too soon, too sudden, leaving us all here to carry on…without him.
So, everyone, may we please have a hearty round of applause for the
FINAL CURTAIN CALL of our Beloved and Greatly Missed, Simeon
Garstang Jones.

**IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, please honor Sim’s life and memory with
donations to his favorite cat rescue, Good Mews Animal Foundation at
2805 Robinson Rd, Marietta, GA, to save homeless cats, which was a
cause dear to his heart. Please choose the category “Memorials and
Honorariums adding Sim’s name. Thank you!
www.goodmews.kindful.com

A personal Goodbye from Simeon’s Wife…
“The first Englishman I ever saw was Michael York in my 8 th grade English
class, when we watched the movie “Great Expectations.” Fatefully?
Perhaps. The man I fell in love with was another Englishman who looked
very much like that actor. Perhaps God prepared me to know, when I first
saw Simeon Jones that he was ‘The One.’
We met, we touched, we laughed, we danced…we lived what some may
call a fairytale with a moral to the story, but it was a life we chose to live
together: For better, for worse…in sickness and in health…until death did
do us part.

Goodbye for now Honey. I will see you again in Heaven. You are with God,
but I still miss you so much it hurts! You were not perfect, but you were
perfect for me, and God brought us together from across the world. My
heart breaks because our time together is over far too soon. God knows
best, so I am trusting Him to make everything okay, until we are together
again.

‘Alas, cruel Fate hath stolen away our last kiss, which shall forever feel like
a dagger in my heart,’ says this Juliet to her Romeo who hath too quickly
left.

I loved you then, I love you now, I will love you forever.’
Your Darling, Your Wife, Your Genevieve.”