Simon Haysom of Warwick, NY, died on September 21, 2024, as a result of pulmonary fibrosis. Simon was born in Worthing, England, in 1945. His mother, Antoinette Beckett, worked in British intelligence during WWII, and his father, David Haysom, was a pilot who fought in the Battle of Britain. He grew up in South Africa and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where he excelled academically, studying economics and law at the University of Cape Town and the University of Natal.
He immigrated with his family to the United States in 1979, where he initially pursued a career in marketing. Simon returned to law school to earn his LLM from New York University, and opened a practice in bankruptcy law in Goshen, NY, in 1990. He held “an unshakeable belief in helping others through the law,” and served as president of the Hudson Valley Bankruptcy Bar Association and the Orange County Bar Association.
Simon loved the news, physics, non-alcoholic beer, and Barnes & Noble, but his true passion was playing sports. He was instrumental in the founding of a number of local athletic organizations, including the East Arm Rowing Club, the Warwick Cricket Club, the Warwick Polocrosse Club, and Friends of the Barn Squash Club.
Simon will be remembered by his dense network of family, friends, clients, and colleagues as a compassionate lawyer, a relentless sportsman, a master at delivering rousing toasts, and a lifelong student of history and sciences.
In lieu of flowers, the Haysom family requests donations be made to the Orange County Land Trust or the American Lung Association.
A memorial gathering will be held at the Warwick Conference Center on Sunday, November 10 at 2 p.m. All who knew him are welcome to join.
Arrangements were made by Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat Memorial Home, 17 Oakland Avenue, Warwick, NY. To send an online condolence, visit lsvpmemorialhome.com.