by Salamah D. LeClaire
After a long bout with dementia and a rapid decline in the last two months, Simon Dick passed away on Saturday evening, August 5th at 9:08 pm, in the VA hospital in San Francisco, CA. It was the exact time of the Sunday morning latihan here in our home in Rungan Sari. He passed away, to the day, two years after our son Halim.
His family were unable to be with him; I had just returned to Indonesia from the U.S. and a message that the hospital left for our grandsons (who live in Berkeley) never reached them. We found out three days later, when our brother Manuel Oliver was trying to see him to do latihan at the hospital, and could not go in. Trying to unravel the mystery, I phoned the doctors to get an update on his health condition and found out then about his passing.
I think that is how Simon would want it: no fuss: just let me move on and be on my way home to North Dakota (a symbol of US for him), and so he did. That had been his non-stop quest for over three years, so being back in the states allowed him to move into his next journey.
Many of you knew Simon for his long life in Subud, his hikes in the Sierra, his trips to Indonesia (the first in 1971) and life there, his work on the national by-laws, his work for YUM, his love of Shakespeare, his writing, his sense of humor, his teaching English at BCU, his love of life, his goodness and caring nature, and his law career. As a lawyer, Simon was always interested in helping those in need rather than the material side of the practice. His easy answer whenever asked “how are you?” was, “I am well, super!”
We began our Subud life on the East Coast and lived in New England before moving to Indonesia for the first time and were blessed in being there while Bapak was still with us. There, Simon worked for YUM as director. In the early 1990s, we lived in Sunnyvale and Santa Clara CA for several years, joining latihan at the Palo Alto Subud Center. We lived in Spokane at the time of the 1997 Congress and for a few years after. We then went back to Indonesia and Rungan Sari, where we lived until bringing Simon to San Francisco in June of this year.
Along with his son Daniel, and grandchildren Latif, Raynard and Reza, I pray and ask that you join in asking that he be rewarded for his good deeds and forgiven his shortcomings as he embraces this next journey in the light.
May God bless him.
Please share your own memories of Simon Dick on our website HERE, using the comments box at the end of the page, under Leave a Reply
Simeon is in Adam’s class- died this year as well. Adam at the end of January from a cruel Parkinsons.
It gave me a smile to see the photo of Simeon- I can hear his voice and laughter.
Much love to you>>>Rachel