Joseph Alan Simon

Joseph “Joe” Simon, aged 56, passed away on Saturday, June 27th, 2026 at UNMC in Omaha, Nebraska.

Joe was born May 1st, 1970 to Clifford and Doris Simon and was raised in Arion and lived in the Dow City-Arion area his entire life, which he was incredibly proud to say. He grew up playing football and baseball for Dow City-Arion High School where he graduated in 1988.

Joe married Rachel Gorden in 1999. From this union, the two were blessed with two children, Jared, who passed in infancy in 1998 and Jenna who was born in 2000.

Being Jenna’s dad was his favorite part of his life. When Jenna was in the fourth grade, she started showing rabbits through 4-H. Through her high school and young adult life, they showed rabbits together and traveled throughout the midwest to different shows. Joe took over primary care when Jenna went off to college, but they were able to continue Simon Show Rabbits together.

Joe had lots of other passions and hobbies. These included hunting and fishing, watching Iowa Hawkeye football and basketball and later, Indiana Fever women’s basketball.

Throughout his life, Joe worked at No Frills Supermarket, where he started right out of high school as a night stocker and worked his way up to manager, Sullivans Supply and most recently was the manager of Ettlemans Town and Country in Dow City, Iowa. This is where he became known as “The Ettlemans Guy”.

In March of 2021, Joe met Ammy Staska and the two quickly realized that they had found their forever person. They healed parts of each other and became inseparable. He introduced Ammy to the world of show rabbits and they went to shows in Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota and Missouri in the five years they had together. He also traveled around to cheer on the Simpson Storm, where Ammy’s son played football. They were married on June 22nd, 2026 after five years of love, laughter and happiness.

To know Joe was to know love. Whether you were family, a friend, or someone he only met a few times, you knew that he was someone you could always count on. He was a kind and generous soul with both his time, money and effort. If there was ever a school fundraiser going on, you could guarantee that he was buying something. He was an avid supporter of youth showing rabbits and would help and guide kids into the process and techniques of showing rabbits

Joe had a wicked sense of humor and a ready smile but he will be most remembered for his kindness, gentle soul, generosity and amazing hugs.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Clifford and Doris Simon, infant son Jared, brother-in-law Brian Backstrom and bonus daughter Faith Staska.

He is survived by his daughter Jenna Simon (Nathan Kriegermeier), wife Ammy Staska, bonus daughter Haley (Tanner) Stevens, bonus son Cole Staska (Tori Knight), siblings, Deborah (Stephen) Gross, Carolyn Backstrom, John (Shirlene) Simon, and many, many friends who were always more like family.