Louis "Buddy" Vernon Simon was born August 11, 1929 in Bluffton, MN, the youngest child of Theodore and Katherine (Vorderbruggen) Simon. At the young age of two, the family moved to the Ogema, MN area. When Buddy was a teenager, his family then moved to North Dakota and in 1956 he moved back to the Ogema area.

On June 24, 1958 Louis was united in marriage to Rose Mary Reller at St. Benedict's Catholic Church in White Earth, MN. Following their marriage, the couple made their home near Waubun, where they raised their family of 10 children. Over the years, Buddy did some farming, worked as a mechanic and really enjoyed the time he spent as a house mover. A stroke several years ago, forced Buddy into retirement. Although unable to have a conversation with people, he enjoyed company and always had a good firm handshake. His most common way of communicating was to say "Buddy, Buddy" and point and then you just had to figure it out. Buddy kept busy tinkering with stuff around the yard that he had collected and was quite handy to fix anything. He also liked to take in a good western or a detective show. Also, when Buddy was able, he loved deer hunting in the fall and has the mounts to prove it.


Buddy and Rose Mary have made their home together northeast of Waubun for the past 45 years. Buddy died at home on Saturday, June 13, 2009 having lived to the age of 79 years.

He is survived by his wife, Rose Mary of Waubun; three sons: Randy (Zita) Simon of Grafton, ND, Dean Simon (Annie Bjorkman) of Moorhead, MN, and Pat (Christina) Simon of Twin Valley, MN; seven daughters: Stephanie (Ralph) Scherrer of Puyallup, WA, Sharon Simon of Brainerd, MN, Debbie (Joel) Dilley of Grand Forks, ND, Michelle (Kelly) Dahl of Hazelton, ND, Maria (Kevin) Dorman of Waubun, Kristie Simon (Chris Hiatt) of Minneapolis, MN, and Lori (Tuff) Tibbetts of Waubun; and 17 grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a grandson, Conner Louis Simon; three brothers and one sister.

Mass of Christian Burial was held Friday, June 19, 2009 at 11 am at St. Ann's Catholic Church, Waubun. Visitation was held Thursday, June 18th from 5-7 pm with a prayer service at 6:30 pm at the Anderson~Mattson Funeral Home, Mahnomen, and also one hour prior to mass at the church. Funeral services were led by Father Bob Leising, O.M.I. Special music was provided by Monica Winter. Serving as pallbearers were: Teddy Simon, Justin Simon, Nikki Simon, Angelika Scherrer, Derek Scherrer, and Tristan Dilley. Honorary pallbearers were all of Buddy's grandkids. Burial was in the St. Ann's Catholic Cemetery, Waubun.