Obituary of Jim Simpson Sr.

On a March 7, 2021, James (Jim) Edward Simpson—husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather—passed away at home peacefully, surrounded by his family, at the age of 90.

Jim was born in Arborfield, Saskatchewan to Thomas and Daisy Simpson, the fourth of nine children.  His early years were spent on the farm in Arborfield, until the family moved to start a second farm near Tisdale. As a young boy, he loved everything about the farm, but especially adored the animals: cats, dogs, pigs, cows, or horses—he loved them all. Jim had many jobs on the farm, one of which was ensuring that the animals were put into the barn at night and let out in the morning. Jim was also put in charge of wood detail for the house. He would line up all his siblings’ shoes up at the door before leaving the house to get a load of wood. Upon returning, he would stack the wood on the step and insist that the other kids help bring the wood into the house. Another one of his responsibilities involved taking his siblings with the horse and sleigh, along with the neighbours’ children, to pick up the teacher and make sure everyone arrived safely to and from Hanover School. He took his job very seriously. His sister Verla often said: “When you rode with Jim, you had to “toe the line” or you found yourself walking behind the sleigh.”

The Simpsons were a very athletic family, which encouraged Jim to become a competitive hockey player. His first year of organized hockey was with the Tisdale Midget team. He mentioned that when his team played in hockey tournaments, they would catch the train to get to the games. Back in the day, if they won the game, they got fed; if they lost, they went home with empty bellies. Dad often said that this was one of the life moments that developed his work ethic and helped form his desire to do his best. He proudly played with the Prince Albert Minto’s then went to live with his sister Marion in Saskatoon so he could play with the Saskatoon Wesley’s. He was invited to a few training camps and ultimately signed up with the New York Rovers for the 51/52 Season. He sent a telegram to his parents letting them know he had been signed to the New York Rangers Farm Team. The telegraph clerk was so excited that he ran all the way to the Simpson family farm to hand-deliver the message. Jim travelled with the team as part of the Eastern Hockey League. He had the privilege of playing in three of the Original Six Arenas and played six games with the New York Rangers. The Rovers played every Sunday afternoon in New York at Madison Square Gardens; their games were well-attended by the community.  One Sunday, during a faceoff, Jim looked over his shoulder and saw Kirk Douglas and Ingrid Bergman. He could have reached out and touched them! For a farm kid from Saskatchewan, that was a big deal! One of the highlights of his New York experience was after a game in Detroit where Gordie Howe and Ted (Scarface) Lindsay sought him out in the locker room, shook his hand, and told him that he played one hell of a game. Jim was offered a second season but chose not to go. Years later, he admitted that the living out of a suitcase in the big city wasn’t for him. Jim continued to play senior hockey with the Wynyard Monarchs, transitioning to recreational leagues and ending his days as a player with the Lloydminster Neversweats in 1988.  During his lifetime, he was involved in every aspect of the sport: he spent time as a referee, coach, dedicated fan, and bus driver for the local Junior A team.

While living in Wynyard and sending a telegram, he met his future wife Christena. Jim and Tena, as she was known, were married in July of 1955. They began their family in Humboldt, welcoming five of their children: Ellen, Mavis, Gerry Ann, and twins Janet and Jim. Jim Sr. was employed with BA Oil and Don Brockman. He volunteered with the local fire department, participated in recreational hockey and baseball, as well as refereeing. Throughout their life together, Jim and Tena enjoyed travelling. Their destinations included: Europe, Hawaii, Florida, Scottsdale, San Diego, North Carolina, and Victoria. Wherever they went and whoever they went with the experience was enjoyed immensely. In 1966, Jim accepted a position with Willms Transport. Jim and Tena moved their family to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan where they welcomed their sixth child, Bev. In 1971, Jim transferred to Lloydminster with Willms. Jim and Tena moved their family for the final time. Overall, Jim was employed with Westcan Bulk (Willms) Transport for over 30 years, holding a variety of positions that included terminal manager, safety supervisor, driver, and lease operator. In 1996, he tried his hand at retiring. It lasted all of one winter. In the spring of 1997, he purchased another semi and ran it under Powers Bulk Carriers until he sold his truck in the fall. He attempted to retire four more times before finally succeeding at age 70.  

Jim always ensured there was family pets. Full of compassion for animals, he fed numerous stray cats, although his favorite big old Tom comes readily to mind. After many years of living in the doghouse that he’d converted especially for Tom, Jim managed to convince Tom to move into the house. After retiring, Jim spent many hours volunteering at the SPCA. He successfully recruited business owners, neighbors, friends, and of course, his family, to help save bottles. It was a common sight to see people walking or driving by the Simpson house stop and throw bags of bottles over the fence. Whether it was a small or large bag, he would grin when they were dropped off. Much to the kids’ shock, their Dad actually dug bottles out from every conceivable place he could find them. Once in his garage, Jim would use his cane to sort, bag, and proudly exchange the bottles at the bottle depot. With cash in hand, he would happily purchase pet food for the Lloydminster and District SPCA. He made it look so simple by showing up at the SPCA, after all his hard work was done, with a vehicle full of pet food. Each bottle made Jim smile because he knew how important it was to ensure there was enough food for the animals. Every delivery made his heart full.

Being such a hard worker Jim rarely spent time on himself. Hobbies were a luxury he spent little time developing. In his later years, he became very committed to the afternoon drama, “The Young and Restless”. Even when on vacation, everything stopped so that he could take in his drama series. He also really enjoyed Bob Barker and “The Price Is Right”, just like his mother. In addition to his favorite shows, Jim enjoyed meeting with a group of friends for breakfast at Zellers. Every day, Jim and Tena would go to the mall and enjoy breakfast with the crew. He would tease the waitresses and they would tease him right back. For Jim, it was a wonderful way to start the day. It was a sad day for him when Zellers closed. He would miss the breakfast gang.

When our family summarizes what our dad stood for, we said: work hard, pay your own way, don’t run up debt, try to do the right thing even if it is at your own expense, and most importantly of all, DON`T you forget who you are. He always told us what we needed to hear, not what we wanted to hear. Dad was a serious-natured person with a kind heart: honest, ethical, loyal, trustworthy, and extremely committed to his family. He was a wonderful husband, great father, amazing grandpa and great-grandfather. Soar with the angels Dad!

Jim is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Christena; daughters Ellen MacEwen, Mavis Allin, Gerry Ann and Earl Fraser, Janet and Kim Smith, and Beverley and Greg McKenzie; daughter-in-law, Chris Spasoff; grandchildren Del and Jenn, Chad and Crystal, Tanis and Marc, Dustin, Danae, Brodie, Danielle and Ian, Nicholas, LJ, Morgan, Evan, Skylar and Naomi, and Kelsey and Henri; great-grandchildren Leith, Nya, Arwyn, Kristen, Jaiden, Vivianne, Ethan, Jayia, Oaklen, Darian, Lycia, Paisley and Aubrey; all the family pets Axel, Duchess, Ophie, Tierney, Lilly, Red, Bella, Tucker, Huck and Abby; sisters Marion Fish, Verla Craig (Tony) and Isabel Brigham (Gavin); brother and sister-in-law, Barry and Linda Simpson; brother-in-law, Murray Lowe; sister-in-law Barbara Tait; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Jim is predeceased by his son James (Jim) Simpson; son-in-law Monty MacEwen; his parents Thomas and Daisy Simpson; brothers Bill and Gerald Simpson; sisters June Hamilton and Gail Lowe; parents-in-law Andrew and Edith Tait; brothers-in-law Grant Fish, Bill Hamilton, Wes Brigham, Maynard Craig and Bill Tait; and family pets Sandy, Cooper, Bandit, Nibbles and Old Tom.

The family of Jim Simpson wishes to express their appreciation to those who sent cards, flowers, and kind expressions of sympathy following his passing. Thank you to McCaw Funeral Service for their professional and caring guidance. Special thanks to Dr. R. Sayeed for your dedication to Jim and to our family for all the care and compassion that you showed to “McGoo” over the past three months. A special thank you to Archdeacon Michael Stonhouse for the spiritual visit before Jim passed.  Thank you to Home Care for all you did for Dad and for helping us make a difficult situation easier. Thank you to Gloria Sawtell for all the visits, coffee, chats and just being there for mom, you are truly a blessing! 

Sincerely, Tena Simpson and Family

“We’ll always remember you because there will never be another one to replace you in our hearts, and the love we will always have for you”