Arthur Saint Julian Simons II

Arthur Saint Julian Simons II of Lake Murray, South Carolina, formerly of Columbia, South Carolina, died peacefully on August 27, 2023, at Lexington Medical Center. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 7, 2023, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. A private burial at Elmwood Cemetery will be held at a later date.

Arthur was born in Columbia on February 1, 1940, to the late Alice Babcock Simons and Charles Inglesby Simons. He graduated from Dreher High School and Columbia College, from which he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

He began his professional career as administrator of Waverley Sanitarium, a private mental hospital in the Forest Hills section of Columbia established in 1914 by his maternal grandfather, James Woods Babcock. Dr. Babcock, the first fully trained psychiatrist in South Carolina, served as superintendent of the South Carolina State Hospital for the Insane from 1891 to 1914 and was a pioneer in the investigation of pellagra.

In 1969, changing times forced the closure of Waverley Sanitarium. Arthur donated the building to the Midlands Association for Retarded Children, which was renamed the Babcock Center in honor of Dr. and Mrs. James Babcock and their daughter, Ferebe.

Arthur then began a long-running and successful commercial real-estate development business by establishing Middleburg Office Park, the first of its kind in South Carolina, on the grounds of the former sanitarium. He took the name from Middleburg Plantation on the Cooper River, established in 1697 by one of his ancestors, Benjamin Simons, a French Huguenot refugee. Arthur also developed Middleborough, an 18-story high-rise condominium, on the Waverley property. In the early 1970s, he played a major role in the development of the campus for Heathwood Hall Episcopal School at its new location along the Congaree River, and went on to develop numerous projects throughout South Carolina.

Arthur was deeply interested in religion. He pursued a master’s degree in theology at the Columbia Biblical Seminary and completed the Episcopal Education for Ministry (EfM) program through the School of Theology at the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee. He was a life-long member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, where his barbecues at the annual Trinity Bazaar became a tradition.

He excelled in the visual arts and was at various times a proficient painter, sculptor, potter, and woodworker. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoyed hunting, dove, duck, and deer, as well as offshore fishing. He was a keen birdwatcher and in his later years spent countless hours on his porch overlooking Lake Murray, binoculars at the ready to catch a glimpse of avian wonders in season.

An accomplished sailor, Arthur enjoyed the art and challenge of sailboat racing for more than 30 years, competing in events up and down the East Coast. He played a major role in establishing the Easter E-Scow Regatta at the Columbia Sailing Club on Lake Murray. This event became a prominent race-season opener, attended by some of the nation’s best competitive sailors. A major accomplishment for him and his crew was winning the Governor’s Cup Offshore Regatta in 1991 aboard his cherished J-35, Jubilate Deo.

He was a member of the Columbia Sailing Club, the Charleston Yacht Club, the Columbia Cotillion, the St. Cecilia Society of Charleston, and the Executive’s Association of Greater Columbia. He was a member and Paul Harris Fellow of the Columbia Rotary Club and served many years on the Rotary Scholarship Committee.

Arthur is survived by his daughter, Ferebe Babcock Simons (David Loper) of Lexington, his son Arthur St. Julian Simons III (Andrea Redfern) of Camden, his son Benjamin Guion Simons of Lexington, and two grandchildren, Jamie Taylor and Finn Simons, both of Camden.

He was predeceased by his loving and devoted wife of 57 years, Judy Stone Simons, and his brothers, Charles Inglesby Simons, Jr., and James Babcock Simons.

Memorials can be made in his name to the Columbia Sailing Club, Post Office Box 922, Columbia, South Carolina 29202.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.dunbarfuneralhomedevine.com for the Simons family.