Who was Christopher Simon? Jim Avila lost brother following “brief illness” five years before his death

Former ABC News journalist Jim Avila has passed away at the age of 70. Avila had been dealing with an undisclosed illness, among a range of health issues due to which he underwent a kidney transplant earlier, according to NTD. Avila is survived by his children, two of his brothers and his sister.

Christopher Simon was one of Jim Avila’s brothers, who died five years ago. He died in January 2020 at a hospital in North Dakota after suffering from a “brief illness,” as per his obituary.

Like Avila, Christopher was also a broadcast journalist who got his start at KGOE, a radio station in California. According to Williston Herald, he also worked at various radio stations in Los Angeles, and at the WCCO-Minneapolis.

During his stint at WCCO-Minneapolis, Christopher was awarded the Edward R. Murrow Award. Notably, Avila himself was a recipient of five Edward R. Murrow Awards, as per ABC News.

Avila’s brother, Christopher covered the Balkan War as the ABC News bureau chief during the 90s. According to his obituary, he worked at KEYZ 660AM as a news director before taking the same position at Williston’s Coyote Radio 98.5.

I have a shelter dog. Best decision. 10 years by my side. https://t.co/UPAeHgtv21 pic.twitter.com/HOVT6JZxz0

— Jim Avila (@JimAvilaABC) February 22, 2022

Three of Jim Avila’s brothers worked in journalism

Jim Avila was born to Jim Simon and Eve Avila in 1955, as per the New York Times. Los Angeles Times notes that Jim Simon was a broadcaster and executive, who was known as “the father of talk radio.” He was the co-anchor of KABC’s Newstalk.

The professional legacy of Jim Simon certainly impacted his sons, who also found their calling in broadcast journalism.

According to the New York Times, in addition to Christopher Simon and Jim Avila, their brothers Tom Simon and Jaie Avila also worked in the same field.

Jaie Avila came to his brother, Jim Avila’s aid when the latter was suffering from advanced kidney disease in 2018. Jaie donated his kidney to his brother.

According to AdWeek, Jim, while speaking to TVNewser spoke about the seriousness of his illness and said,

“I don’t think I realized how serious this was.  I wasn’t thinking as clearly as I could be, before, because I was sick – I was very sick.  I was just a week or so from being put in the hospice.  So I didn’t realize the gravity of what was going on so much, until afterwards…And the surgery for me was also quite an ordeal.  But overall, when it’s all said and done, of course it was worth it. I have a future.  I didn’t think I did, then.”

The news outlet notes that after his surgery, Jim regained his awareness and realized that his brother had made a huge sacrifice for him. He said,

“It really hit me, ‘What have you done? Here’s a healthy man [his brother], with three children and a wife.’”

In the words of a famous San Diego anchorman “news team assemble”#abc10 pic.twitter.com/q8FefhHmAX

— Jim Avila (@JimAvilaABC) November 6, 2024

The illness and the surgery made Jim Avila appreciate the more profound things in life. According to AdWeek, the broadcast journalist added,

“I have plenty of good suits that I can wear for the rest of my life. But dinner with friends, breakfast with family, traveling the world, meeting new people, new cultures – those are the things that I want to collect for the rest of my life. That’s much more important to me.”

Before his death, Jim Avila had been working with ABC’s affiliate in San Diego, KGTV.