HOWARD THOMAS "TOM" SIMON, 85, of Golden, Mo., died Saturday, April 8, 2006, in his home.

He was born April 14, 1920, in Chicago, Ill., the son of Albert and Mazie (Fogerty) Simon. While working for Western Electric, Tom met Catherine Marie Sauber, known to family and friends as Marie.

Tom grew up in Downers Grove, Ill. and was a 1938 graduate of Downers Grove High School. He also attended Illinois Institute of Technology, where he studied metallurgy.

During World War II, Tom served in the U.S. Navy, joining the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Dec. 8, 1941. He served on the USS Davis during the Normandy Invasion, the USS Adams during the invasion of Okinawa and as it accompanied the USS Missouri during the Japanese surrender in June 1945.

Tom and Marie were married while he was on leave in New York City on April 24, 1944, and they would have celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary this year.

Tom was a noted builder of homes in Illinois and in the Table Rock Lake area. He worked for Atlas Builders Division of Harvey Lumber Co. from 1951 to 1961. He then owned a Chicago area general contractor business, Jewel Builders, until 1972. At that time he moved to Shell Knob, Mo., where he continued as a general contractor, building many homes at the lake, around Shell Knob and in parts of northern Arkansas.

He is survived by his wife, Marie; five children, Ellen (Simon) Arnott and her husband, John of Trophy Club, Texas, Tom Simon and his wife, Beth of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, Carol (Simon) Beck and her husband, Don of Bluffton, S.C., Pam (Simon) Higgins-Gilbert and her husband, Wayne of Joshua Tree, Calif., and Deborah Simone Simon of Golden, Mo.; one brother, John Simon and his wife, Dorothy of Tucson, Ariz.; eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two sons, Bob and Chuckie, and a daughter, Linda.

He moved from the Chicago area to Shell Knob in 1972, where he lived 12 years, then in 1984, he moved to Golden to make his home.

Tom and Marie were charter members of Holy Family Catholic Church, Shell Knob, where funeral mass was held on Tuesday, April 11, 2006, under the direction of Fohn Funeral Home, Shell Knob. Father David Miller conducted the mass. Burial with military honors was in Lake Park Memorial Gardens, Shell Knob.

Contributions may be made to St. John's Hospice -- Berryville in memory of Tom.