Robert E. Simon

Robert Edward Simon Jr. (April 10, 1914 – September 21, 2015) was an American real estate entrepreneur, most known for founding the community of Reston, Virginia.<ref name="NYT-obit"> Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Morello_2004"> Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="RestonBriefHistory">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Original work: Template:Cite book</ref> He was the maternal uncle of feminist historian and writer Elizabeth Fox-Genovese.<ref>Template:Citation.</ref>

Early life

Simon was born in New York City in 1914,<ref name="HJR_2009">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the son of Robert Sr. and Elsa Weil Simon,<ref name=Marks>Template:Cite news</ref> immigrants from Germany.<ref>Template:Citation.</ref> He was raised in Manhattan along with his four siblings.<ref name=Marks/> He was of Jewish descent.<ref name=Jackman>Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

Reston

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<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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".)<ref name="RestonBriefHistory"/><ref name="McKeon_1999"> Template:Cite news</ref> 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<ref name="McKeon_1999"/> and helped celebrate Reston's 40th birthday in 2004.<ref name="MyersPR_2009"> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="RestonBriefHistory"/><ref name="MyersPR_2009"/>

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

Personal life

Simon married four times.<ref name=Marks/> He was married to author and environmentalist Anne Wertheim Langman, daughter of Maurice Wertheim, and granddaughter of Henry Morgenthau Sr.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He died in Reston, Virginia in September 2015 at the age of 101.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=Marks/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

External links

• A Brief History of Reston, Virginia
• Guide to the Robert E. Simon Jr. papers, 1960–2006
• James Rossant, master planner of Reston