After fighting a long battle with diabetes, Robert Johan Simon, passed away peacefully on March 12, 2012. Rob, born in 1939, in Jakarta, Indonesia, was of Indonesian and Dutch descent. At seventeen, he moved to The Netherlands with his diplomatic family. In 1960, he received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Delft University in The Netherlands. He continued his academic studies at Rice University in Houston, Texas receiving a BS in Chemical Engineering with Minors in Biochemistry and Biology. He continued graduate studies in Environmental and Biomedical Engineering. Serving as a Research Fellow at Rice, he had the great privilege of serving as a member of the Artificial Heart Implant project at Baylor University with Dr. Michael DeBakey. After serving two tours of duties as a United States Army Ranger in Vietnam, Rob returned to the US to begin a successful career in the petroleum industry. In his various positions, he was responsible for all facets of operation and maintenance for all types of rotating equipment in refineries and Oil & Gas plants around the globe. His career started with the Alyeska Pipeline Company in Alaska. He then joined Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia and finally, served as Senior Vice President, Refinery Operations for ExxonMobil-Saudi Aramco. In 2000, Rob retired from thirty-three years in the Middle East and moved to Springfield and joined Allen Filters, Inc. as Vice President. He was responsible for the design, engineering and manufacturing of custom oil filtration and purification equipment for Allen's clients around the globe. Rob was blessed with a brilliant, analytical mind. He spoke seven languages and had an unquenchable intellectual curiosity throughout his life. His quick wit and dry sense of humor was a trademark to his family and friends. Always generous and civic-minded, he contributed his time to his church, the community and industry boards. Rob is survived by his wife, Katherine Allen Simon. A celebration of Rob's life will be held on Monday, March 19, 2012 at 11:00 am at Hope Church, 2121 S. Blackman Road, Springfield, Missouri, 65809, under the care of Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Hope Church Missions Projects-Guatemala and Zimbabwe, Robert Johan Simon Memorial Fund, 2121 S. Blackman Road, Springfield, MO 65809.