ANNE SIMON

“A SOUL WHOSE EYES WERE KEENER THAN THE SUN

A SOUL WHOSE WINGS WERE WIDER THAN THE WORLD”

“There is no Death”

The souring angel in the Rock Creek Cemetery at Washington, D.C., that marks the grave of Anne Simon was carved by Brenda Putnam (1890-1975), a well-known 20^th Century sculptor and author.

Putnam was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She created many commissions of noted Americans, such as, Jane Addams, Amelia Earhart, Pablo Casals, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and even the artwork for the Moses Cleveland Centennial half dollar. She also sculpted cemetery works like the angel on Anne Simon’s grave.

Anne Simon (1870-1916) was a talented artist who expressed her creativity through poetry and prose writing. She was an accomplished pianist, too. In fact. The morning of her death she performed in an instrumental trio.

After her death, her husband Otto Torney Simon wrote a book, The Message, the text of which he claimed he received from Anne after her death. The book published in 1920 and was titled, The Message of Anne Simon. Part of her epitaph, “A SOUL WHOSE EYES WERE KEENER THAN THE SUN, A SOUL WHOSE WINGS WERE WIDER THAN THE WORLD” is in the foreword to the book. The last cryptic line of her epitaph, “There is no Death” is also from the book written after her death. On page 26, Otto writes, “There is identity here! You will know me. And give the message: There is no Death, but there is Life, a new Life, which mortals will understand when they know love. The veil is thin (use gossamer; it is beautiful). Love will rend even this…Give this message!”