Linda Simons

Linda Marie VanRoyen-Simons was born to Enos D. VanRoyen and Ollie D. (Smith) VanRoyen on December 30, 1946, in Elk County, Kansas on a farm west of Moline. She passed from this life on June 28, 2026, in Toronto, Kansas.

Linda lived in Elk County and Greenwood County until she graduated salutatorian at Severy High School in May of 1964. She married Joseph Frank Simons on September 19, 1964, in Severy. They made their residence in the Wichita area and later in Kelso, Washington, before eventually returning to Kansas. They had two children: Joseph Frank Jr. and Tina Marie.

Throughout her life, Linda was a very dedicated family member and worked many different types of jobs. She worked as a deputy in Eureka, an EMT in Eureka, a waitress, a Pizza Hut manager, and a small business owner, but her favorite job was being a mother and housewife.

She was a remarkably resilient woman who survived losing a house in a fire, living through the Andover tornado, and nearly drowning when a footbridge collapsed. Despite these and many other trying events, she was a positive thinker and always looked for the good in people and any given situation. For the last several years, Linda worked on the board of the Severy Alumni Association.

Linda liked fishing, sports, traveling, and people (especially her extended family).

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Joseph Simons Sr.; her significant other, Harold Lazzers; an infant brother, John William VanRoyen; and her siblings: Lily Cheever, Esther Meyer, Alma Boardman, and Glenice Chastain.

She leaves many survivors: son Joseph F. Simons, Jr. and wife Bonnie of Albuquerque, New Mexico; daughter Tina Marie Graf and husband Chuck of Salina, Kansas; grandchildren Katelynn Simons, Joey Simons, Mark Hodges, and Shawn Hodges; sister Karen Meyer and husband Richard of Haysville, Kansas; plus, many nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 A.M., Thursday, July 2, 2026, at Koup Family Funeral Home, Eureka with Pastor Kurt Henson of the Haysville Christian Church officiating. Interment will follow at Greenwood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Severy Alumni Association. Contributions may be sent in care of Koup Family Funeral Home, PO Box 595, Eureka KS 67045, which is overseeing arrangements. Condolences may be left for the family online, at koupfunerals.com.