George "Larry" L. Simon

George L. Simon passed away January 26, 2026, at the age of 68 years, in hospice care at the Billings Rehab and Nursing Home Facility where he had resided for the last 4 months of his life. He was a cancer warrior enduring strength, courage, and humility after a year of battling the dreaded disease.

He was born on July 14, 1957, in Billings, Montana to George W. Simon and Rosemary Lande Simon. Known to many as “Larry” as well as “George”, he attended Newman, Riverside and Billings West High Schools and remained a lifelong resident of Billings. After losing our father in 1966, Larry grew up fiercely independent and lived a simple life on his own terms. Larry enjoyed his cold beer, Marlboro smokes, and his loud 8track cassette music rocking and singing to Credence Clearwater Revival and many other golden oldies of the 70’s and 80’s. Larry had self-taught mechanic skills to do repairs and maintenance on his own vehicles. He had a soft heart for all animals, primarily cats. He loved seafood, ham hocks and beans and could eat a whole crockpot by himself. Mom always commented that he really knew how to cook meat perfectly on the bbq grill. He enjoyed watching sports at his favorite hangouts, primarily the Jackpot and Aurora Casinos with his constant circle of friends. He was a loyal Chicago Bears fan, watching and hoping they would head to the Superbowl this season, which was not meant to be. He was an accomplished dart thrower back in the day. Big Sky Open VII in March of 1995, Larry placed first in Men’s Singles Dart Champion. In the 1996 MT State Darts Championship, Larry took first place in Open Doubles Cricket. From such wins, he earned the nickname, The Legend. He was a lover of the outdoors learning from his grandparents at an early age. Fishing was his greatest loved pastime.

In September 2024, Larry retired with a dedicated 25 years of service with School District 2 Public Schools as Custodian for Castle Rock Middle School. He never missed work, enjoyed the staff and students. Why cancer cheated him out of a retirement that he was looking forward to, we will never know the answer. Larry was proud of his indigenous ancestry and was a member of the Crow Tribe and lineal Chippewa Cree descendancy with the Little Shell Tribe.

When our brother was diagnosed with incurable cancer in early 2025, his lifetime true best friend, Terry Reiter, stepped up to the difficult journey of helping with Larry’s daily healthcare needs and promised he would be with him up to the moment of his passing. He fulfilled that promise. We can never thank him enough; Terry has definitely been our bonus brother and a part of our family for many years.

Larry never married nor had children, but he had a lot of family. His nieces Kimberly, Jamie and Deja’ would teasingly argue as to which one was Uncle’s favorite. He was preceded in death by Dad in 1966; his maternal grandparents Andrew L. Lande in 1983 and Edith Ledoux Lande in 2002, and Mom in 2024.

Larry is survived by his sisters who he affectionately referred to as bridge trolls: Sharon Limberhand, Jacquelyn Kelly and Nancy Bjelland, all of Billings. Nieces and Nephews: Deja Limberhand, Ryder, Meadow, & Eunice; Mick, Michelle and Beau Petersen (Colstrip); Dennis and Ruth Limberhand, Bobbie Jo, Dakota, Cissy, Cheyenne and Cody; Wade Kelly, Jake and Kendra, Justiss and Sophie, Burnham and Baby boy Augustus to make his arrival any day now; Kimberly and Joe Sterle and McKenzie and Aidin (Colorado); and, Jamie and Bryan Watkins and Aubrie and Sydney {Minnesota).

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all of Larry’s friends and our family, Riverstone Hospice and Billings Rehab and Nursing Home Facility for their care and compassion during this unexpected, painful, an immensely difficult journey to comprehend.

Per Larry’s wishes, there will be no services. Cremation has taken place and a Celebration of Life/Spreading of Ashes/Potluck Picnic gathering will be planned at a later time.

Undoutedly, Larry would have had issues with this tribute being too long or even written at all. So we close with “We love you and will miss you, Bro. RIP.”