Norton Winfred Simon (1907 - 1993)

Born 5 Feb 1907 in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, United States

Husband of Lucille I (Ellis) Simon — married 3 Feb 1933 (to Jul 1970) in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

Husband of Phylis Lee (Isley) Simon — married 30 May 1971 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

Died 2 Jun 1993 at age 86 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Norton Simon is Notable.

Norton Simon was a wealthy businessman, philanthropist, and art collector. He was the namesake of the world-renowned Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California.

He was born 5 February 1907 in Portland, Oregon,^[1] the son of Myer R. Simon and Lillian Glickman. His father was a businessman. The family lived in Portland, Oregon until the 1920s, when Myer moved the family to Los Angeles, California.^[2][3][4]

He was married 3 February 1933 to Lucille I. Ellis in Los Angeles, California.^[5] They were divorced July 1970 in Los Angeles.^[6]

He was married to the Academy-award winning actress Jennifer Jones (Phylis Lee Isley) 30 July 1971 in Los Angeles.^[7]

He died 1 June 1993 in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 86.^[8][9][10]

Obituary:^[11]

NORTON SIMON, ART COLLECTOR AND INDUSTRIALIST, DIES AT 86

Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA) - Friday, June 4, 1993

Industrialist Norton Simon, who amassed a fortune that allowed him to create a world-renowned art collection, has died of pneumonia at age 86.

Simon, who had the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome, died at his Bel-Air home Wednesday, said Janet Ellis, executive administrative assistant of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena.

Simon's business wizardry turned an investment of a few thousand dollars in a bankrupt orange juice bottling plant into the Hunt Foods and Industries empire that would eventually become the Norton Simon Inc. conglomerate.

But more than that, his stock market acumen or his unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate, Simon's fame came through his art collection and such acquisitions as the $2.2 million purchase of Rembrandt's Titus in 1965.

The Norton Simon Museum displays works by Raphael, Cranach, Rubens, Rembrandt, Zurbaran, Watteau, Tiepolo and Goya. Also on display are works by Manet, Renoir, Monet, Degas, van Gogh, Cezanne, Picasso, Matisse, the German expressionists, and Asian sculptures spanning 2,000 years. Simon resigned from the board of Norton Simon Inc. in 1969, the year his 31-year-old son, Robert Ellis Simon, committed suicide.

In 1970, Simon entered the Republican Senate primary and lost to Sen. George Murphy. That year, Simon divorced his first wife, Lucille. In 1971, he married actress Jennifer Jones. Simon, born Feb. 5, 1907, in Portland, Ore., was diagnosed in 1983 with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a paralytic disorder, and he used a wheelchair.

Simon is survived by his wife, son Donald and four grandchildren, all of the Los Angeles area. The funeral will be private.

Sources

1. ↑ "California, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGF7-W53W : 2 March 2020), Norton Winfred Simon, Los Angeles, , California, United States; from "Draft Registration Cards for California, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947." Database and images. Ancestry. (www.ancestry.com : n.d.); citing Draft Registration, Los Angeles, , California, United States, citing NARA Records of the Selective Service System, 1926-1975. Record Group Number 147. NAID: 7644723. Records of the Selective Service System. The National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri, n.d. Born Norton Winfred Simon 5 Feb 1907 in Portland, Oregon. registration date: 16 Oct 1940 in Los Angeles, California. Next of kin: wife, Lucille Irene Simon.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLYV-2D5 : accessed 27 January 2022), Norton Simon in household of Myer Simon, Portland Ward 5, Multnomah, Oregon, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 166, sheet 7A, family 157, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1286; FHL microfilm 1,375,299.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4Z2-WFV : 3 February 2021), Norton Simon in entry for Myer Simon, 1920.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCVS-4Z5 : accessed 27 January 2022), Norton Simon in household of Myer Simon, Los Angeles (Districts 0001-0250), Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 100, sheet 12A, line 34, family 237, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 136; FHL microfilm 2,339,871. Less
5. ↑ "California, County Marriages, 1850-1952," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8JC-Z97 : 9 March 2021), Norton W Simon and Lucille I Ellis, 03 Feb 1933; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, county courthouses, California; FHL microfilm 2,075,038.
6. ↑ "California Divorce Index, 1966-1984," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPR3-XND : 15 May 2014), Lucille I Ellis and Norton Simon, Jul 1970; from "California Divorce Index, 1966-1984," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2007); citing Los Angeles City, California, Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento.
7. ↑ "California Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V62J-CLV : 27 November 2014), Norton W Simon and Jennifer J Isley, 30 Jul 1971; from "California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2007); citing Los Angeles City, California, Center of Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento.
8. ↑ "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPDH-L8P : 26 November 2014), Norton Simon, 02 Jun 1993; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
9. ↑ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VM93-B2V : 11 January 2021), Norton Simon, 02 Jun 1993; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
10. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31111151/norton-simon : accessed 27 January 2022), memorial page for Norton Simon (5 Feb 1907–1 Jun 1993), Find a Grave Memorial ID 31111151, ; Maintained by Bobby Kelley (contributor 46959922) Cremated, Ashes scattered at sea, who reports a Ashes scattered over the Pacific Ocean.
11. ↑ Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Washington) 04 June 1993, obit for NORTON SIMON, ART COLLECTOR AND INDUSTRIALIST, DIES AT 86, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/0F9DE9327B6BF42E : accessed 27 January 2022)