Date: 4/6/26 7:29 am From: Sandy Berger <sndbrgr...> Subject: Don Simons
Don and I go way back to sometime in the mid-90s. I was a novice but very
enthusiastic birder and was encouraged by Arkansas Audubon Society members
to become an officer. So eventually Don became president and I was his vice
president. I saw his reenactment of JJ Audubon’s travels and learned of
Don’s love of becoming a mountain man and attending rendezvous. We worked
well together and formed a friendship that lasted till he passed.
Don graciously hosted my husband and I when we took a trip to southeast
Arkansas to see the Lake Chicot area. Don worked there for many years
before moving to Mount Magazine. He took us to all the “borrow” pits along
the Mississippi. It was the first time I’d ever heard that term. He took us
to Lakeport Plantation when it was still in a major state of disrepair. We
stepped in three states where the borders touch. And best of all…he got me
my first Wood Stork and Roseate Spoonbill.
I was kind of shocked when he took the Magazine job. Such a difference in
terrain and culture from southeast Arkansas. But as you know, he did a
great job there at Magazine. So many of us added state/life birds because
he shared with us what he found on the mountain.
I didn’t get to Magazine very often, but when I did you can bet I searched
out Don. I shall miss him. Very thankful that God put him in my life for a
time.
Thank you, Lori, for taking such good care of my old friend. Many thoughts
are with you.
