Dr. Pedro T. Simon, M.D.
Marco Island, Fla. — PEDRO “PETE” TOMAS SIMON, 82, died peacefully at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough, Maine on January 23, 2021 from complications of Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, a rare blood disease.
Born in Laoag, Philippines on April 29, 1938 to the late Juan and Maria (Tomas) Simon, Pete grew up to study medicine at University of the East in Manila, Philippines, graduating as a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) in 1963. He emigrated to the United States soon after, accepting an internship at The Frankfort Hospital of Philadelphia (Pa.), after which he completed his residency at Grasslands Hospital in Valhalla, N.Y. in 1969. He then trained under pioneering heart surgeon Charles P. Bailey, M.D., at St. Barnabas Hospital in New York City before joining the staff at Cary Memorial Hospital in Caribou, Maine in July 1972.
A member of the American Medical Association and a fellow of the Society of Pilipino Surgeons in America, Dr. Simon quickly made an impact on northern Maine’s medical community when, in August of 1972, he became the first surgeon in Aroostook County to repair an abdominal arterial aneurysm, a complex vascular procedure. Part of a core of talented physicians practicing at the newly established Cary Medical Center in Caribou in 1978, he would remain a staff member until he closed his surgical practice in 2004.
He married his first wife Constance (Weissinger) in 1966, having three children. His second marriage was in 1988 to Jeannine (Chan), with whom he would spend the rest of his life, becoming a stepfather to her three children.
Pete was an avid fisherman, golfer, and traveller, but his driving passion always was gaining knowledge and expertise in the field of medicine to improve the lives of others. He was dedicated to continuing education, earning the American Medical Association Physician’s Recognition Award in Continuing Medical Education from 1990 to 1993. Throughout his career and even more often after retirement, Dr. Simon traveled to remote and disadvantaged communities in the Philippines on medical missions sponsored by the Canadian Medical Mission Society, Rotary International, and Society of Pilipino Surgeons in America, among others.
He is predeceased by his sister Esperanza (Simon) Chavarria of Seattle, Wash. He is survived by his wife Jeannine (Chan) Simon; son Tomas Simon of San Jose, Calif., his spouse Kate and their children Owen and Julia; son Mark Simon of Boston, Mass., his partner Nikki and their children Kai and Teo; daughter Bennet Flinner of Hollis, Maine, her spouse Kevin and their children Sameena, Tristyn and Colton; stepson David Chan of Richmond, Va., his spouse Portia and their children Monica and Francis; stepson Darwin Chan of Brooklyn, N.Y., his spouse Genna and their children Gillian and Olivia; and stepson Douglas Chan of Needham, Mass., and his spouse Fernanda; sister Esmeralda Farrales of San Jose, Calif.; brother Santiago Simon of Milpitas, Calif.; sister Inocencia Tionko of Manila, Philippines; sister Norma Smith of Newcastle, Pa.; his former spouse Connie Tucker of Sinclair, Maine; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Jefferson Cary Foundation, P.O. Box 89, Caribou, ME 04736 or carymedicalcenter.org/giving.
A private memorial service was held on Jan. 28 at the Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service Chapel in Buxton with Deacon Paul Lisandrello officiating.