Publisher, journalist, and cartoonist David Simonson has passed away.
David C. Simonson
May 9, 1927 – August 27, 2021
Cartoonist, journalist, editor, publisher
A life-long artist and journalist, at the age of 12, he and his political artwork were featured in LIFE magazine. As a teenager, one of his oil paintings won a New York City-wide art competition. As early as his middle school years, he involved himself in journalism, publishing his own neighborhood newspaper for several years. He attended the (New York) High School of Music and Art, served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, and was a graduate of Hamilton College. He continued to study art for many years at the Art Students’ League in New York City. David started his career writing advertising copy and transitioned to newspaper journalism.
David worked at the Mt. Kisco, N.Y. Patent Trader, a semi-weekly newspaper covering Northern Westchester and Putnam Counties, starting as reporter and working his way up to be publisher. It was there that his clever wit and artistic talent yielded a twice weekly cartoon of suburban life that became a much-anticipated feature of the paper. Many of his cartoons appeared in national publications, including The Reader’s Digest. David and his family moved to Glenview, Illinois in 1977, where he became publisher and president of Pioneer Press, a subsidiary of Time, Inc. During his tenure at Pioneer Press, he expanded the business from 13 to 41 local newspapers in suburban Chicago. Again, his cartoon became a staple of the weekly papers. In 1987, he became Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the National Newspaper Association in Washington D.C., and he and Lois moved to Arlington, Virginia.
David contributed cartoons to The Patent Trader from September 1960 to at least December 1974 (and more than likely until 1977 when he left the paper), and then contributed cartoons to the Pioneer Press papers around Chicago from 1977 to 1987 according to the obituary.
above: from the July 15, 1940 Life Magazine feature
