Donald V. Simpson Sr.

Donald V. Simpson Sr., age 85, a lifelong resident of Stoneham and a longtime resident at Bow Lake, Northwood, NH, passed away July 21, 2021.  Don was the beloved husband of the late Jane (Flor) Simpson.  He is survived by his devoted companion Mary Kenney of Hyannis.

Donald was the loving father of Denise M. Simpson of Derry, NH, Donald Simpson Jr. and wife Ellen of Gray, ME,

Heidi Simpson-Vranich and her late husband John of West Roxbury and the late Laura J. Simpson. "Grampy Don" loved joking with his grandchildren, Nick and Sara Morse of Alexandria, VA,  Daniel Morse of Portland, ME, Kyle Simpson of Gray, ME and Caleb Vranich of West Roxbury, as well as, with his great grandson Charlie Morse and great granddaughters, Ellie and Katie Morse. Don enjoyed happy times with The Fish Family of Woburn

Born in Melrose, MA; Don was the son of the late Victor R. and Hazel (Young) Simpson. He was the loving brother of Richard H. Simpson and his wife Connie of Holyoke, and Gail Paul and her husband Gabriel of Gilroy, CA.

Don enlisted in the US Navy in 1954.  He was proud to be a submariner on the IREX 482, US Sixth Fleet in the Korean War, honorably discharged in 1956 and earned the Holland Club, Thresher Base for more than 50 years membership as a U.S. Submarine Veteran. Using the GI Veteran's Bill, Don graduated from Northeastern University, earning a B.S.in Electrical Engineering.  Specializing as a Reliability Engineer, his career began with the Apollo space missions in the 1960s, winning awards and commendations.  He joined the IEEE and became Membership Director, traveled with Jane, and succeeded innovating military projects for worldwide communications into the 1990's.  Don joined the VFW, American Legion, USO and other organizations.

Don and Jane met in the 10th grade and were married for 50 years.  They spent many happy years vacationing in Barefoot Bay, FL; decades enjoying Bow Lake in Northwood, NH snowmobiling, barbequing, and boating; traveling to Hawaii, London, Canada, Las Vegas, and the Caribbean.  Special family road trips were to the White Mountains and the 1975 All Star Game for the Red Sox vs. Milwaukee Brewers.  His early years were spent in Tewksbury and Temple, NH, hunting, swimming and fixing cars.  Annual summer cookouts with Stoneham neighbors were a highlight attended by the Provost, O'Connell, Doyle, Glover and Lynch families.

Funeral service is from Anderson-Bryant Funeral Home, 4 Common St., Stoneham, Tuesday, July 27th at 9 A.M. followed by a funeral mass at St. Patrick's Parish, Stoneham at 10 A.M.  Visiting hours are  Monday, 4-7 P.M. at the funeral home.   In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Tufts Medical Center, Attention: CardioVascular Center; 800 Washington St., Box 231, Boston, MA 02111 or online at https://givingtuftsmedicalcenter.org/give, in Memory of Donald V. Simpson.  Alternatively, Don was dedicated to supporting education for his children and his alma mater: Northeastern University; 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115 c/o Electrical & Computing Engineering Fund 644628, in Memory of Donald V. Simpson. [email protected] .