Simone LeBrun McCauley , a resident of Falls Church for nearly 70 years and the 1996 Mattie Gundry award winner, died October 1, 2006 of congestive heart failure. She was 94.

Born in Lowell, Mass., McCauley came to DC in 1934 for a civil service position in the U.S. Department of Labor. She became of a member of the St. James Catholic Church several years later and began a lifetime of volunteer work within the community, owning and operating a Religious Goods Store for 35 years, while participating in a variety of parish services.

In 1962, McCauley helped start a Golden Age Club that eventually became an institution in Falls Church. She served on various community boards for service to mentally retarded and mentally ill citizens, and was president of the Northern Virginia Mental Health Association from 1971-1973.

Continuing to serve the church as well as the community, McCauley was an active member of the board for Catholic Charities of Northern Virginia for more than 20 years.

For her efforts, she was named Falls Church Kiwanis Club Bicentennial Citizen of the Year in 1976, and 20 years later was honored again with the Mattie Gundry Award, for furthering the standing of women from the City of Falls Church.

She is survived by her children, Jeanne Trott of Falls Church, Michael McCauley of Mechanicsville, Md., Patrick McCauley of Front Royal, Va., and Joseph McCauley of Tappahannock, Va.; 13 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

Her husband, William McCauley, was Director of the Bureau of Employees Compensation of the US Department of Labor. He died in 1978. Her daughter Mary Elizabeth McCauley died in 1958.

For more information on funeral arrangements please contact Murphy’s Falls Church Funeral Home, 703-533-0341.