Thermopolis Independent Record - Your source for news in Hot Springs County

Philip Dee Simonson, 71, passed away on December 29, 2020, at 7:15 a.m., the result of a respiratory infection, in Ogden, Utah.

Philip was born February 7, 1949, in Thermopolis, Wyo., to Philip Oscar Simonson and Amelia Fern McNeely Simonson.

Philip attended elementary school in Thermopolis and Riverton, Wyo. The family moved to Palmdale, Calif., in 1963, where Mr. Simonson worked for the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center as a Radar Technician.

Philip graduated from high school in 1967, in Palmdale, with honors. He attended Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, Calif., where he majored in Business.

He enjoyed the world of real estate but is best remembered for his love of music. At a very young age, the Simonson household was filled with beautiful music, as a very small boy sat on a piano bench and turned the entire keyboard into his playground. He was a natural-born artist at the piano and took great pleasure in entertaining his family with his talent. As he grew up, it brought him great pleasure to share his phenomenal talent with his nieces and nephews and later, the public. He was invited to perform at the Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, Calif. When he moved to St. George, Utah, he enjoyed a job as a piano lounge pianist, entertaining countless audiences, capable of playing magical renditions of classical music as well as taking requests for the popular music of the era. Philip was a gifted musician, song writer and composer. In later years, he volunteered to play for the Senior Citizens Center at various holiday functions. This came to an end when he suffered a stroke near the end of his life. This was truly "the day the music died" for Philip, and for all of his adoring family and fans. He was much loved and will be greatly missed. If there are pianos in heaven, Philip will be making beautiful music once again.

He is survived by his two sisters, Ann (Bill) Deromedi of Thermopolis, Wyo., and Martha (Craig) Davis of Ammon, Idaho; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Philip Oscar Simonson and Amelia Fern Simonson.

His final resting place will be in Washington, Utah, next to his mother and father.