Rolf Simon’s heart has ceased beating

On 9 December Rolf Simon’s heart stopped. He passed away suddenly at the age of 73.

Liga Kondrate, the head of the Tourist information centre of Ludza municipality, was the one who received this sad news. In Germany, the farewell ceremony with Rolf Simon – a loyal friend of Ludza – has already taken place.

According to Rolf Simon’s will, the funeral urn with his ashes will be transported to Ludza after cremation. A group of people from Bad Bodenteich are planning to arrive in Ludza in August 2017 in order to fulfil Rolf Simon’s will.

The Chairwoman of the Council of Ludza municipality Alina Gendele has sent her condolence to Bad Bodenteich from Ludza Municipality. There were no representatives from Ludza present at the ceremony.

At the ceremony in Germany, Liga Kondrate’s farewell words were read aloud:

Rolf Simon, life is just like water. It can flow slowly like a river. It can foam with joy like the sea. At some moment, it can strike against a sheer cliff. Rolf, your life just like a wave struck against the cliff of destiny and spilt into a thousand drops…

This moment came so unexpectedly, and we still cannot believe that we won’t be laughing together, won’t talk about new works and won’t write letters to each other about things important to friends. Your living heart has stopped. But there are so many things left to do, so many plans and intentions… You will listen to the songs of our choir from the heaven above, we will sing to your joy. And trips to Vitebsk and beautiful St. Petersburg will remain only in our dreams. True, some of our projects and historical information will remain in other friends’ hands. We will have the honour to continue everything you started in commemoration of you.

I still remember our first meeting at the gate of Ludza town, the first gathering of our group of friends at Nirza Lake, our first trip to Bodenteich and signing of the agreement, which was followed by so many new works. During these more than 10 years, we had established a really sincere, nice and deep understanding, a genuine and enriching friendship. We were able to understand each other at once, to find the right solutions in a moment. You guided this friendship through all the obstacles and put it on a stable road.

People in Ludza will remember your smile and personal involvement of a real friend. So many people were acquainted with you – you devoted your time, good words and presents to them. I will admit – you, Rolf, have won our hearts. At this moment of goodbye, we send you our gratitude and our grief. But we promise to continue the cooperation work.

Your live and warm heart has stopped. It hurts so much… Rest in peace, dear Rolf. We will always remember You! You said yourself – half of Your heart is here in Ludza. We will guard this warmth of Your heart in Ludza!

The obituary notice in the local newspaper of Bad Bodenteich says:

“Historicus Bodendicus” (Historian Bodendicus) will not tell any stories anymore. On 9 December this year, the historical station of Bad Bodenteich died together with Rolf Simon. Rolf Simon was born in 1943 in Hamburg, and in 1985 his destiny led him to Kneipp – Kurort where he soon got involved in various branches of activities. He was the leader of the association “Castle of Bodenteich”, who were forming the museum of the castle. His publications about the historical Bodendike knight family was interesting to many readers. Since 2010, Simon in the person of “Historicus Bodendicus” presented historical evidence of Bad Bodenteich to an uncountable number of people. He was also a great tour guide. R. Simon is considered a founder of cooperation with Ludza, Latvia. Within the course of this project – many visits to Latvia, as well as visits of guests from Latvia to Bad Bodenteich took place – Rolf Simon’s handwriting is recognizable here. He was not only a demanded and knowledgeable person in the sphere of history and an adviser in the tourism branch, but also a man who has good knowledge of both of these spheres. The Christmas fair in Bad Bodenteich is unimaginable without Rolf Simon. It became his last event. Only a few days after this year’s Christmas fair, he suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. R. Simon’s decease leaves a huge gap. His name will be linked particularly with further development of Bad Bodenteich, and his works will remain in light memory. His special and personal stories will live in the memories of inhabitants of Bad Bodenteich.