James D. Simon

James Dudley Simon (January 30, 1897 - October 23, 1982) was a Democratic politician and jurist who capped his career with elected service on the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1955 to 1960.

Simon (pronounced SEE MOAN) was born in St. Martinville, the seat of St. Martin Parish, to Judge James Simon and the former Laurence Mouton. He was the grandson of Judges Edward Simon and Edward Mouton and the great-grandson of Judge Edouard Simon. He was educated in public schoolss and then studied pre-law credentials at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He graduated in 1918 from the law school of the Catholic-affiliated Tulane University in New Orleans. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1918, the last year of World War I. He was discharged as a lieutenant in 1919.

Simon was a state senator from 1921-1925, when he resigned the seat to become judge of the Sixteenth Judicial District Court. He was reelected to the court for five consecutive six-year terms. He was appointed in 1941 by the Louisiana Supreme Court temporarily to the Orleans Court of Appeals in New Orleans, a position which he held until 1942. In 1947, the Supreme Court justices named Simon temporarily to the Fourteenth Judicial District Court, which covered Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis, Cameron, and Beauregard parishes. He continued on the Sixteenth District Court until he was elected to the Supreme Court in January 1955 and served until his retirement on August 23, 1960.

Simon was twice married. In 1929, he wed the former Eloise Gertrude Stone of Alexandria, the seat of Rapides Parish, in central Louisiana. She was the daughter of Walter Stone and the former Viola Carson of Texas. Their three daughters were Barbara (born 1931), Eloise Simon Bryant (born 1935), and Kathryn (born 1936). In 1955, Judge Simon married the former Lucille Bienvenu (1919-1998) of St. Martinville.

Simon was a charter member of the American Legion, formed to organize service personnel from the Great War.

He is interred in St. Michael's Cemetery in St. Martinville.

References

"James Dudley Simon", "A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography", Vol. 2 (1988), p. 744

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