Bob Simons, a former GAP/AGA Committee member (2007-12) and longtime Honesdale Golf Club member, died April 20. He was 76.
“Bob Simons was an absolute pillar of the golf community here in Northeast Pennsylvania, from coaching at Wallenpaupack High School to bringing new players into the game with his summer clinics at Honesdale. He has mentored so many young people,” Patrick Lloyd, GAP Director of Northeast Operations, said.
Simons served as the Wallenpaupack Area High School golf coach for 54 years. He amassed a 682–239–23 record that included four Wayne County League championships, six Lackawanna League championships, two District 2 and eight District 12 team titles.
Simons is the state’s winningest golf coach at the high school level.
“Pennsylvania golf lost a legend. No one was more committed to the game, to juniors. In our area, he was not only a great player and supporter, but his coaching was unmatched,” John Pillar, Sr., Director of Golf at Woodloch Springs, said. “I wouldn’t call him the greatest teacher, but he knew enough to get you back on track, get through the season, get through a round. He volunteered his time relentlessly to driving kids all over the place: to practices, to events all over the state. We don’t know the lives of juniors and what goes on behind the scenes. But I’d be willing to bet the moments and memories that he had with them were probably the best moments of their lives when they were young.”
Pillar is among a conga line of student athletes that evolved under Simons’ leadership at Wallenpaupack Area High School. His sons — John, Jr., Kyle and Alex — also learned from Simons.
“He was a wonderful mentor to me. Truth is I started golf late in high school. He was my first coach. He’s still my coach even in his passing,” John Pillar, Sr., 57, of Hawley, Pa., said. “The reality is I wouldn’t be where I’m at had he not given me an opportunity to get into the business of golf. He offered me an opportunity to work at Fernwood Resort through one of his former players, Bruce Hooper. I was at a time in my life when I wasn’t making good decisions, destination unknown. The moment I said yes to that opportunity, here we stand. He saved my life and gave me an opportunity to prosper in golf.”
“You mention golf [in this region], and Bob Simons name always came up. He not only mentored student athletes, but also a lot of coaches,” Greg Kopich, who served alongside Simons as an assistant golf coach at Wallenpaupack for 17 years, added. “He gave more time than anybody I know. He had a lot of patience, never a bad thing to say. He will be sorely missed.”
Simons started as a caddie at Honesdale, a place that immediately gripped his golf heart.
“Honesdale is where he grew up playing the game. He loved Honesdale Golf Club,” Greg Wall, 73, of Clarks Summit, Pa., said. “It’s no surprise how special that place was to him. It’s what shaped his whole life I think.”
Wall, son of Art Wall, Jr., grew up playing golf alongside Simons at Honesdale. As did Irv Williams, who graduated Honesdale High School with Simons in 1966. The two became lifelong friends.
“We just got along like two peas in a pod. Never had one bad word,” Williams, 77, of Honesdale, Pa., said. “This really knocked me on my butt. It really bothers me.”
Simons attended Bloomsburg University and represented its golf team. He twice competed in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships and, in his senior year, competed in the NAIA Tournament in Texas. Upon his graduation in 1970, Simons started in the Wallenpaupack Area School District, where he worked for the next 35 years — 25 as a sixth-grade teacher and 10 as a disciplinarian — before retiring in 2005.
Coaching golf combined Simons’ life passions: the game and its next generation.
“He loved the kids who were playing for him as much as they loved him. He totally enjoyed it,” Wall, Pocono Manor’s golf professional, said. “If you knew Bob as a coach or as a friend, you were very fortunate.”
“He’s done so many things for kids that you can’t even begin to imagine. A lot of the kids he coached are great human beings today. He taught them how to live,” Williams, also a Honesdale Golf Club member, added. “He did a lot for the community. He put clinics on for young kids in July at Honesdale. He dedicated his life to children.”
Simons, affectionately known as “Si,” won the Positive Coaching Alliance Double-Goal Coach Award presented by TeamSnap in 2018. The award distinguishes coaches who strive to win while also pursuing the goal of teaching life lessons through sports. In 2021, Simons received the Joseph M. Butler Memorial Award in recognition of his contribution and services to high school athletes. He is a Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame inductee.
Simons, a seven-time men’s club champion at Honesdale (1971-73, 1976-78, 1995), served on the club’s Board of Directors, on and off, for half a century. He represented Honesdale on the Anthracite Golf Committee following the passing of Walter Markowski and John Anabelle.
“Incredible human being. He always had Honesdale Golf Club in his heart,” Dan Pahls, Honesdale President, 57, of Honesdale, Pa., said. “Jack Nicklaus was always The Bear, but there was only one Arnie. I don’t think they’ll ever be another Arnold Palmer. I don’t think they’ll ever be another Bob Simons.”
Simons is survived by his daughter, Bridget Donovan and her husband, Scott; grandchildren Ryan and Emma Donovan. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ann Marie, parents, Earl and Ruth Simons, as well as his father-in-law, Harold Gilhool.
A visitation will be held at the Hessling Murray Funeral Home at 428 Main Street in Honesdale tonight from 4 to 7 p.m. A funeral blessing will be held at St. Mary Magdalen Church on April 24 at 10 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Ann Marie Simons Sportsmanship Scholarship. Mail to: Bridget Donovan 193 Ski Run Road Honesdale, PA 18431.
GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 345 Member Clubs and 125,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
