Obituary of Allen "Simon" Montagu

Allen "Simon" Montagu, PhD, age 55, of Jackson, CA, passed away Sunday, October 9, 2022 in Jackson with his loving family by his side. Simon was born in Upper Hutt, New Zealand on February 22, 1967, a son of Susan Maude Montagu and the late Douglas William Montagu. Simon will be remembered for his intellect, his sense of humor, and for his love of plants, trees, agriculture, rugby, yoga and cars. Simon loved wine and the winemaking process and was pursuing the Wine Certification at UC Davis. He loved farming and agriculture and enjoyed sharing his knowledge about environmental processes and geography. Simon loved his New Zealand and Australian heritage and was constantly teaching all of his American friends and family about Australia and what he called "Australianisms." He loved sharing stories about growing up in New Zealand and Australia - his love of rugby, working on the family farm and getting into trouble every once in a while. He loved cooking and baking Australian desserts and this past year mastered his very own barrel-aged negroni. Simon loved the game of cricket and to his fellow Oz Denver mates was considered an "excellent" cricketer. Simon found his true self in yoga and adopted new ideals and theories on life and the universe through his yoga practice. Simon pursued a very successful career in Environmental Science but switched careers in 2011 and co-founded a software company with his wife, DeVon. Simon was a gifted software developer - as everything came naturally to him. He loved Chocolate Software and its clients; he was always excited to go to work every day. He was very humble about his academic successes but pursued an MBA with a specialty in Entrepreneurship even after already obtaining a PhD. He was a talented and accomplished writer and speaker and had a wonderful and magnetic style to him. People loved just being in the same room with him. Simon is survived by his wife, DeVon Marie Farago; sons Jack Douglas Montagu, of Denver, CO; Nicholas George Montagu, of Denver, CO; daughters, Anneka Maria Farago, wife of Michael Allen Moore, of Denver, CO; Jesseka Reba Farago, wife of Teresa Munoz, of Denver, CO; mother, Sue Montagu, sisters, Wendy Chantler, Karen Montagu; and brother, Clark Montagu and of course the loyal family dog Patches. We will all miss this guy dearly, but he left us with so many precious ways to remember him that we will hang onto and treasure forever.