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John R. Simonds
1961-2021 |
My brother, John R Simonds of Dennis, MA, formerly of Fitchburg, MA,
died at home unexpectedly on August 5, 2021. He was born July 12, 1961.
John was the guy you wanted at your gatherings. He was quick
witted and could tell a great story or reel off a string of jokes and have you
laughing until it hurt. In defense of his wardrobe that was heavy on jeans,
khakis, and tee shirts, he would point to the many photos in the family album of him
as a toddler wearing a bow tie and suspenders and say, “THAT is why I hate
dressing up.”
John always liked cars, starting with his Matchbox and Hot
Wheels cars as a kid. One of his early non-miniature, life-size, actual
drivable cars was a blue Camaro. Later vehicles included a Trans Am, a Jeep, a
couple Corvettes, vintage Mustang, and various motorcycles. He liked cool,
bad-ass vehicles and soon had big trucks, too. The coolest, most pristine
vehicle at a gathering was usually his. His vehicles took him everywhere he
wanted to go – Texas, New York City, all around New England, onto the beach, and a
couple times, places he wasn’t planning on such as the emergency room (looking
at you, Trans Am and red ’67 Corvette).
His teenage adventurous streak inspired him to skateboard on
the hilly streets of Fitchburg and occasionally hop a freight train to Gardner
to skateboard there. Summers during junior high and high school were spent in
Texas working with Grandpa (Baba Gooie) Ray “Yank” Kask at his company where he
learned about the process of scraping, aligning, and rebuilding machinery, and
the business importance of addressing “Baba Gooie” as “Ray” during work hours.
After high school, he worked at Foster Grant in the boiler room as a fireman.
In the mid-1980s, John washed ashore on Cape Cod and fell in
love with the landscape, the weather, and the surf casting and never looked
back. It wasn’t long before he was cracking wise about the tourists like a
native-born resident. For many years, his home was the site of frequent weekend
gatherings of family and friends. As a host, he was always ready to play tour
guide with a list of fun options like drives to Provincetown, trips to
interesting shops, sightseeing, fishing, or visiting a dune buggy beach to lay
on a blanket and watch the annual summer Perseid meteor shower.
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"THAT is why I don't dress up"
~ John |
His career spanned over 30 years working for the Town of
Yarmouth in various departments. He mowed fields and raked beaches with the Parks
Department and later, crawled under people’s houses to check the water. He moved to the Water Department as a serviceman and eventually became supervisor. He often covered holiday
shifts so his colleagues with children could have the days with their families,
and took any extra shift that presented itself.
John is survived by his wife Lisa (Barron) Simonds to whom he was married for 24 years and Sadie
the wonder dog; his mother, Sharon Kask and her partner Butch Rivers; his
father David Simonds and his wife Denise (Cormier) and their daughters Brittany
and Kimberley; sister Tammy Simonds Dohner; sister Sherri Simonds Cormier and
her husband Steve and their three daughters Shannon, Sheridan, and Shayla.
He was a member of the Fitchburg High School
class of 1979, SEIU Local 888 Service Employee International Union Unit B, and
the Yankee Beemers Motorcycle Club.
Services for John will be held privately. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.doanebealamesdennis.com.
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