Barbara Simon
Oral History.
This oral history was recorded in Summer 2020 with StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to preserve and share humanity's stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. It was facilitated by Mary Bess Ser.
Biography
Barbara Jean Simon was born and raised in Chicago, and has been a North Lawndale resident since the age of seven. Her entire life has been built and shaped in the North Lawndale community. At an early age, Barbara was raised in church and taught to approach life with faith. She acknowledges her parents as being “great.” Their morals, values and wisdom has motivated her to be the best mother, grandmother and great-grandmother she can possibly be.
As a woman of great faith, Barbara recalls meeting her late husband James William Simon Jr., at a neighborhood church and the union brought forth a family-based plastering business that did extremely well. Her love for gardening was inspired by her mom who grew mostly beans, greens and tomatoes in their yard. A fun fact about Barbara Simon is her nickname growing up was “Bird” because she loves planting, growing flowers in her yard, and has an overall love for nature. She enjoys pleasing her family and seeing them healthy and happy. Her motto is, “I walk by faith, not by sight.” Her greatest hope for North Lawndale is for it to get the resources needed to thrive economically.
Barbara is driven by her family, her roots and continues to pray for the healing of this country so her grand-kids and great grand-kids can prosper in life and accomplish greater works.
