Necrology
David C. Simonson '47
May. 9, 1927-Aug. 27, 2022
David C. Simonson ’47 died at his home in Arlington, Va., on Aug. 27, 2021. Born in the Bronx, N.Y., on May 9, 1927, he attended the High School of Music & Art (N.Y.). From an early age he demonstrated an aptitude for journalism and art, and both interests would inform his subsequent career.
The College was on a war footing in 1943 when he matriculated at the age of 16. As he would recall in his half-century annalist’s letter: “Army Specialized Training Program soldiers, some 500 or 600, marched across the quadrangle to classes in meteorology and foreign languages. They lived in the dorms and were very removed from what we thought of as College life, which … centered about the Alpha Delta Phi house, where we freshmen lived. We were on a quarterly term system to permit us to complete as many courses as possible before most of us had to leave for service.” The feeling on campus was unique to the time: “We wore no freshman beanies, took no part in class tugs-of-war, experienced no sports, and enjoyed no big-band houseparties. There were no student publications. WHC, the college radio station, had been put on hold for the duration.”
His studies were interrupted in 1945 first by service in the U.S. Navy and a stint in the U.S Naval Reserve after the end of World War II. David returned to campus in 1946 and graduated in 1948, but maintained his allegiance to his original Class of 1947. Following his return to campus, he helped revive student publications, launching Hamilton Life and its successor, The Spectator, and serving on the Publications Board and the WHC staff. A member of the Squires Club, he majored in English and history.
From the Hill, David entered the University of Vermont to study economics, accumulating graduate credits but not enough to earn a degree. He also began studies in art and illustration at New York City’s Art Students League, which he continued for several years. That prepared him for a side career later in cartooning, which initially provided an outlet for his sense of humor and eventually took on a life of its own.
In 1949, he became a copywriter for Forwell & Mart Advertising in New York City. The next year, he started his journalism career as a reporter and then editor for the Croton-Cortlandt News in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y. In 1952, he became general manager for Colony Publications until, in 1954, he transitioned to editor and manager of the Country Press Newspapers.
His interest in local theatre led to his meeting Lois Sneider, a local school teacher whom he described as “stunningly beautiful.” They married in 1952 and raised three sons. Sadly, she died in 2014, a victim of Alzheimer’s disease.
In 1959, he briefly became promotion director for Griffin Chemical Co. In 1960, he returned to print journalism, where, until his retirement in 1992, he worked for a series of organizations that each had a broader reach than its predecessor. He began as a reporter for the Patent Trader, a semi-weekly newspaper in Mt. Kisco, N.Y., covering northern Westchester and Putnam counties. In time he worked his way up to editor, and, in 1972, publisher. Concurrently, drawing upon his skills as an illustrator, he began drawing cartoons reflecting on suburban life, some of which later reappeared in national publications including The Reader’s Digest.
In 1977, the family relocated to Glenview, Ill., when David became president and publisher of Pioneer Press Newspapers, then a subsidiary of Time, Inc. He left Pioneer in 1987 to become executive vice president and chief operating officer of the National Newspaper Association in Washington, D.C. The family relocated to Alexandria, Va.
David did not step away from his profession when he retired in 1992. He served as a publishing consultant for the U.S. Information Agency and traveled to Bulgaria and other eastern European countries, all newly independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, to help them establish a free press. He similarly assisted newspapers in Africa. He was a lecturer at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Journalism, a seminar leader at the American Press Institute, a consultant on graphic design for American newspapers, an officer of the New York Press Association, and a featured speaker at numerous press organizations.
Outside of work, he was chair of the planning board and mayor of Croton-on-Hudson, vice president of the Mt. Kisco Lions Club, president of the Mt. Kisco Chamber of Commerce, and a board member on the Bowery Mission in New York City.
David served Hamilton as class agent for the Hamilton Fund, chair of his class committee, a member and chair of the reunion gift committee, and his class’s half-century annalist in 1997.
In his 50th reunion remarks, David reflected on the value of his time on the Hill: “Hamilton, before and after our military service, gave the Class of 1947 an intimate environment in which to learn, wondrous and memorable teachers to challenge us, and a faculty which went out of its way to know each of us better and in a personal way.”
David C. Simonson is survived by three sons, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
