Edward Henry Simons, a "visionary" poultry farmer and well-known contractor who also served as chairman of the Public Service Commission, died last Friday. He was 90.

Mr. Simons, the founder of Hill Top Poultry Farms, is survived by his wife of 64 years Olivia, their five children, seven grandchildren and numerous other family members and friends.

Family and friends said that Mr. Simons is probably best known for The Hill Top Poultry Farms and his integrity as an entrepreneur.

Mr. Simons was born on December 27, 1913, in Paget West to Charles and Florence Simons.

His father Charles was Bermuda's first Police detective and thus the family spent a lot of time in Hamilton where Mr. Simons developed a passion for business after spending a lot of time with local merchants.

After attending Miss Crawford's School on Till's Hill in Pembroke, he went to Berkeley Institute, but convinced his father to allow him to leave after his junior year.

Mr. Simons began working as a mason's apprentice under the guidance of Fred Tucker and Gus Davis. He went to school at night, played the slide trombone in a band and on weekends farmed with his grandfather.

Those experiences laid the groundwork for his future businesses and he and his wife Olivia worked together as partners to make their dream a reality, his family said.

Indeed, Hilltop Poultry Farms started with a wedding present - a longhorn rooster and a pullet (a young hen) that the couple were given then they married on October 27, 1938.

Less than a year later, the Second World War began, and food shortages loomed as German U-Boats targeted merchant shipping.

The Bermuda Government called on people to grow their own food as imported food was rationed and Mr. Simons worked out how much it cost to feed his chickens and found that it could be a profitable business.

He then brought a piece of property in Southampton were he and Olivia began the Hilltop Poultry Farms.

He was known throughout the Island for his chicken and turkeys - they also raised pigs and horses.

Family friend Ruth Thomas said: "At one point they had 18,000 chickens on the premises.

"He fed the chickens on a new Purina feed and the chickens thrived.

"He wasn't just into having a chicken coop, he was into having poultry houses. He was a visionary and an entrepreneur."

He was also known as a chef.

"He also made the best soup in the world - everything went in the pot," Ms Thomas said.

Mr. Simons built stone chicken coops, which he adapted into apartments when the war ended and cheaper food imports resumed.

The stone chicken coops were turned into The Hill Top Apartments and according to his family - they have never been empty.

Mr. Simons then started Simons Block Plant, as building block was in short supply. The plant provided block for his and other people's needs.

In June, 1959, however, a large explosion destroyed all the equipment.

"Within ten weeks, he was back in business with newer and better equipment - producing almost twice as much block than before," said his daughter Marilyn Simmons. "He would always find the good in whatever the situation."

Mr. Simons decided to go back into the construction business and teamed up with Meyer M. Malloy, now deceased, and he hired mason Austin Smith as his foreman.

Mr. Smith worked as a foreman of Hill Top Construction for many years and he said: "The workers and I nicknamed Mr. Simons `The Big E' and `Goldfinger', because what ever he touched was successful.

"I can say that I loved and respected him - at first it was employer and employee, but that changed over the years and we became good friends," said Mr. Smith. "He hired me in 1962 and we built houses together over the years.

"After the first house we built together, he gave me the project of the house across from Sunset Lodge on North Shore Road in Spanish Point.

"We put it up so fast we had the walls plastered and the roof slated in five weeks.

"Mr. Simons was not a drinking man and always said that if he caught anyone drinking on the job - he would fire everyone.

"He was a good employer and he always made sure we had our money - he was honest.

"Two weeks ago we were together, I had bought him his usual supply of my wife's oatmeal cookies, and he was still thinking about work.

"He wanted me to build a greenhouse so that he could grow vegetables.

"I told him - look I'm getting on now myself, I can't do any heavy work - and he said `I know, I just want you to oversee it'. I began a business of my own after working with him and I took his work ethic with me."

Mr. Simons took time for civic activities and served on the Board of Agriculture and was chairman of the Public Service Commission.

He was a Justice of the Peace and was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by the Queen on June 11, 1977 for his services to the people of Bermuda.

Mrs. Simmons said: "He was a happy man who loved his work and he loved the game of buying and selling.

"He was not a church-going man, but one who lived the Christian principles he believed in. He was extremely successful for his time. He had a very strict work ethic, strong moral fibre, was incredibly driven and went from strength to strength.

"He did things quietly, he was unassuming and he did it in a time when Bermuda was segregated. He seemed to move in a straight line, if something went wrong then he would pick up and carry on and make it better. He never was deterred and was not led left or right.

"He was one of the decent Bermudians - no matter what they had to contend with - they had a lot of pride."

Mrs. Simmons said her father was always supportive of black people who were running businesses or different causes.

"He was an extremely generous man and many individuals and organisations have benefited from his giving, which he did quietly and without fanfare."

In a recent television profile, Mr. Simons was asked what advice he would give to Bermuda's youth and he said: "None, but my advice to parents is to be an example to your children - it all starts at home."

His grandchildren said: "Our memories of Pop Pop can go on and on forever, they will forever stay etched in our hearts.

"We will always love him for his strength and wisdom and most of all his unconditional love."

Mr. Simons is survived by his wife Olivia, daughters Marilyn Simmons, Lynette Glover and Judith Butterfield and sons Edward Junior and Charles Simons.