It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Kim Simon, 52, on February 28, 2023, from Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a progressive neurodegenerative disease.
The daughter of Dr. Dan and Ruth Hillman, Kim was born and raised in Malibu, California. She graduated from Windward High School and received her bachelor’s degree in history, with honors, from Colorado College. Kim lived in Prague, tracing her family’s roots, and in 1994, joined Steven Spielberg’s Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, whose mission was to videotape and preserve interviews with survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust. Kim’s tenure at the Foundation spanned 28 years, as the archive expanded to include other genocides that occurred. Thanks largely to Kim’s efforts, the archive contains 55,500 interviews from 65 countries in 44 languages.
Kim enjoyed skiing and became an avid runner later in life. Whoever traveled with her was recruited to join her early morning runs down city streets across the globe. She was especially delighted in the time she spent with her husband and two daughters, who shared her love of travel. A consummate host to guests from around the world, she also possessed the knack of choosing the perfect gift for any recipient.
Kim is survived by her husband, Yuss Simon; daughters, Eva and Lily; mother, Ruth Hillman; sisters and brothers-in-law, Karen and Zev Fried and Jana and Sam Gustman; nieces, Alli Mayer (Jared), Lucy Fried, and Justine Gustman; and nephews, Jake Fried and Henry Fried. She will be deeply missed.
The funeral was held on March 2, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. Donations in her memory may be made to the USC Shoah Foundation: https://giveto.usc.edu