Simon Cheung
1968 — 2026
"You talkin' to me?"
- Born on November 13, 1968
- Passed away in 2026
This memorial website was created in memory of our loved one, Simon Cheung, born on November 13, 1968, and passed away in 2026. We will remember Simon forever.
Simon Cheung's Obituary
It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of Simon Cheung in January 2026. He was 57.
Simon passed suddenly doing what he loved most - snowboarding at Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe, fully alive in the moment and surrounded by the beauty of the mountains.
Born in England to Peter and Pari Cheung, he was raised and educated in Toronto with his brother and sister, Naysan Cheung and Maria Cheung.
For more than three decades, Simon was a force in the visual effects and technology industries. His deep love for design, mechanics, and engineering shaped a career that made him one of the world’s most respected hard-surface modelers. From building iconic vehicles and machines from reference or pure imagination, his work set a standard of excellence recognized across the industry.
An ILM veteran, Simon helped bring to life the Men in Black supercar, the Star Wars battle and pit droids, and the legendary Mechanical Spider in Wild Wild West. His journey continued through Minority Report and Pirates of the Caribbean. He moved onto Rhythm & Hues, and then to Weta Digital, where he earned a VES Award for his work on the Avatar “Hover Ship” in 2010. After nearly a decade at Weta, he returned to North America, leaving his mark at Apple, Digital Domain, Whiskey Tree, and NVIDIA.
Simon’s greatest legacy wasn’t just what he built; it was the people he touched. His bright smile, infectious laugh, and boundless warmth turned colleagues into lifelong friends. If you were lucky enough to know him, you remember his generosity of spirit, his unmistakable charisma, and, of course, “The De Niro.”
They say people come into your life for a “reason, a season, or a lifetime”. Simon was a lifetime.
In our world, we joke about six degrees of Kevin Bacon but truly, it was only one degree of Simon Cheung. Whether through work, travel, a shared meal, or a long, heartfelt phone call, knowing Simon made us better.
He will be deeply and forever missed.
Tributes & Condolences
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Last time I was in California, Aliens 40th year anniversary was playing as a special screening at the Castro. Immediately my first thought was to call Simon to go see it and have dinner before. We had done that so many times. I had known Simon for 30 years and we were both film fanatics. First time I got to know him, we immediately hit it off and talked about Heat which just had come out that year. We were both big fans of Blade Runner and because of his iconic DeNiro impersonations we adore
Simon was my cousin …..,, Missed Deeply, Left Too Soon…. He was the kind of person who made you feel at ease right away. Smart enough to impress you, warm enough to make you feel comfortable — and always curious and interested in you before sharing how he was doing. He enjoyed people fully and without reservation. He loved skiing as much as living — with joy, with confidence, and with a sense that every moment was worth showing up for completely. He was so young and was the kind of good that
Hawaiians say "mahalo" to express gratitude, respect, and admiration. Thanks to Simon and Neil they wouldn't let me forget about that word. And I can't thank them enough for that fabulous memory. MAHALO! MY GOOD FRIEND! I have nothing but gratitude for the time we have spent together all these years dating back to our college days at Sheridan. Vacation in Hawaii. Being the bestman at my wedding. Dragging his wedge body cycling in Vancouver. And our many liquid courage nights. I respect Simon'
Simon and I met in Wellington, while he was working for Weta. He was lots of fun, very generous and brilliant at connecting with people. A few treasured memories... - Cosy dinners at Nicolini's, where Simon was pretty much one of the family. - We had a great trip to Japan, he took it all in, eating all kinds of Japanese food and riding the TRAINS. Simon was, of course, far more interested in the neon lights of Osaka and the angles of the buildings in Tokyo than in the temples I was keen to sho
I reconnected with Simon in 2016 at Apple when we were both doing a contract gig in the MarCom dept. I saw him across the room at orientation and I knew that I knew him , but from where (my brain was mush from having a toddler at the time)... I narrowed it down to either ILM or Ryhthm & Hues or both , so I went to sit next to him to figure it out, we started chatting about how/where we knew each other ... Aha! we overlapped at both ILM and R&H ! Serendipitously our work stations were located in