Mrs. NATALIE FLORA LEVIN SIMON

FORT WORTH -- Natalie Levin Simon, active in Fort Worth civic affairs for more than 75 years and devoted to four generations of her family, died peacefully at her home late Wednesday evening, June 4, 2014. Mrs. Simon was 102 years old. Service: 11 a.m. Sunday at Beth-El Congregation, 4900 Briarhaven Road, with Rabbi Ralph Mecklenburger officiating. Following committal prayers, she will be laid to rest next to her husband, Dick, in the Beth-El Section of Greenwood Memorial Park. Minyan services will be held at Mrs. Simon's residence beginning at 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, consideration of contributions to Beth-El Congregation or to a charity of choice, in her memory, is suggested. Born April 6, 1912, in Little Rock, Ark., Natalie was the daughter of Frank and Helene Levin. She grew up in Dallas and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a member of Mortar Board, an honorary society based on scholarship and extracurricular activities. While at UT, she met her husband, Richard U. Simon, who was attending the law school where he served on the law review. Before the couple was married in 1932, Natalie wrote an advice column for homemakers for the Dallas Morning News. After settling in Fort Worth, Natalie and Richard, who practiced law with his father and brother, raised three children. Her primary interest was in her children, but she also was deeply engaged in community work. She was a member of Beth-El Congregation, where she served as president of the temple's Sisterhood, and the Women of Rotary. For years, she was active at the Lighthouse for the Blind. After taking a course in Braille, she converted textbooks and test papers to Braille. A devotee of classical music and fine art, she regularly attended symphony concerts and served as docent at the Amon Carter, Kimbell and Modern art museums. She was a voracious reader and worked as researcher for her son James' biography of U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, reviewing documents at the Truman Library in Independence, Mo., and the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Austin, where she also interviewed Lady Bird Johnson. Natalie's greatest joy was time spent with her family -- her husband, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She enthusiastically hosted and attended countless family events, small and large, dinners, birthday parties, dance recitals, bar and bat mitzvahs, graduations and weddings. Her grandchildren especially looked forward to her homemade peach ice cream every summer. An avid walker for many years, Natalie set a brisk daily pace for two or three miles near her home in Tanglewood; a bench is named in her honor on the walking trail. She knitted numerous blankets for the family and stitched a tapestry for the wall of the sanctuary at Beth-El Congregation. She also enjoyed bridge and international travel to Europe and Asia. Survivors: In addition to her children, Richard Jr. and his wife, Winifred, of Fort Worth, James and his wife, Marcia, of West Nyack, N.Y., and Elizabeth and her husband, Michael, of Dallas, Natalie is survived by her grandchildren, Roger Simon of Austin, Nancy Keller of Fort Worth, David Simon and his wife, Lara, of Newton, Mass., Lauren Irwin and her husband, Thomas, of Concord, N.H., and Sara More and her husband, Keith, of New City, N.Y.; and nine great-grandchildren. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Mrs. NATALIE FLORA LEVIN SIMON please visit our Sympathy Store.