Published in the Enterprise, August 27, 2004

HARVEY V. SIMPSON, 103

(veteran)

Former Blair resident Harvey V. Simpson, 103, died Monday, Aug. 23, 2004, in Lincoln.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31, at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Blair. The cremated remains will reside in All-Saints Church in Omaha.

Harvey Vernon Simpson was born March 2, 1901, in Harper, Kan., to Frank Stacy and Margaret Lillian Simpson. He moved to Blair in 1903 and lived on a farm north of Blair before moving to a home on East Colfax Street in Blair in 1906. He attended Blair schools and would have graduated from Blair Central High but was lacking a single credit in 1919. In those days, a high school diploma was not felt to be as important as it is today.

In 1922, he joined the Marine Corps in Sacramento, Calif., and served on several ships including the Procyon and on the battleship Pennsylvania (prior to it being damaged at Pearl Harbor). After release from duty in 1924, he traveled extensively and worked various jobs.

In 1926, he married Martha Sundquist in Papillion. They had two sons, James and Wayne. During the late 1920s, he lived for a time in Chicago and worked at a garage within a block of the hotel occupied by Al Capone. He lived very close to where the tornado hit in Tekamah in 1930, where he worked for the Chevrolet agency. The family was forced to move from Omaha to western Iowa to Columbus to Scribner and finally back to Blair during the 1930s. During the Depression, jobs were scarce and Mr. Simpson had a rough time finding anything other than sales jobs; trying to sell to people without much to offer was especially difficult.

In the early World War II days, he volunteered to work on the Alaskan Highway and drove a truck in the Klondike area (White Horse to Skagway). He also worked for Vinton Motors in the bookkeeping department. In 1945, with Richard (Bus) Zimmerman, he purchased the Fairway Transfer, which later became Blair Transfer. As partners, they operated the business for more than 25 years. Mr. Simpson retired in the early 1970s. He served as an ODD Fellow at one time but is more recently remembered as having served on the City Council for several years and as Mayor of Blair from 1966 to 1971.

In 1957, he married Ora “Sis” Pedersen. Recently they lived together in the Crowell Home in Blair. Mrs. Simpson died in March 2004. Mr. Simpson then moved to the Legacy Estates in Lincoln. Recently, he was living at the Tabitha Home in Lincoln. He was highly thought of by many of the staff, who enjoyed his sense of humor.

He is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Wayne and Julie Simpson of Lincoln and by a step-son and daughter-in-law, Rev. Charles & Fran Pedersen of Fremont; eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren; nieces, Marilyn Rolland of Blair; Luella George of Papillion; Virginia Dolan of Lincoln and Shirley Nance of Papillion.

In addition to his wife, Ora, he was preceded in death by a son, James Simpson; brother and sister-in-law, Clarence and Ruby Simpson; and sister and brother-in-law, Goldia and Warren Dolan.

Memorials, in lieu of flowers, are suggested to the Veterans Memorial in Blair.

#2 World Herald 29 Aug 2004

Simpson – Harvey Vernon, died on Monday, August 23, 2004 at 8:25 pm in Lincoln. He was 103. Harvey was preceded in death by his wife, Ora (Sis); son, James Simpson; brother and sister-in-law, Clarence and Ruby Simpson, as well as his sister and brother-in-law, Goldia and Warren Dolan. He is survived by son and daughter-in-law, Wayne and Julie Simpson, of Lincoln; and by his step-son and daughter-in-law, Reverend Charles and Fran Pedersen, of Fremont. He leaves 8 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.

Other family survivors include nieces, Marilyn Rolland, of Blair, Luella George, of Papillion, Virginia Dolan, of Lincoln, and Shirley Nancy of Papillion.

Harvey was born in Harper, Kansas on March 2, 1901 and moved to Blair at an early age. He was a bit reckless in his youth in that he had numerous accidents with his Indian motorcycle in the 1919-1922 era. He served in the Marines in the early 1920’s and worked in Chicago a block from the hotel occupied by Al Capone. He married Martha Sundquist in 1926 and bore two children, James and Wayne. During World War II, he worked in the Klondike area on the Alaskan Highway.

He was co-owner of the Blair Transfer from 1945 to the 1970’s and served as mayor of Blair from 1966 to 1971. In 1957, he married Ora “Sis” Pedersen. Recently they lived together in the Crowell Home in Blair. Ora passed away in March, 2004. Harvey then moved to the Legacy Estates in Lincoln. Recently, he was living at the Tabitha Home in Lincoln.

Services Tuesday August 31, 2004, 11 am at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Blair, NE. Lunch provided. The cremated remains will reside in All Saints Church in Omaha. Send memorials in lieu of flowers to The Veterans Memorial in Blair.

Condolences and Person Reflections may be sent online to: www.roperandsons.com

Roper & Sons Funeral Services Lincoln, NE (402) 476-1225

#3 Funeral leaflet

Many photos

The 20th Century was an interesting century and Harvey Simpson lived through it.

A stint in the U.S. Marines in the 1920’s, living down the street from Al Capone’s headquarters in the 1930’s, working on the Al-Can Highway in the 1940’s and serving as Blair’s mayor in the late 1960’s has left Simpson with a lot of memories and lots of stories to tell.

Simpson was born in Harper, Kansas in 1901. When he was just a year old, the family moved to a farm north of Blair. They lived in a house on the east end of Colfax Street in Blair from 1906 to 1910, when the family moved to Roswell, New Mexico. Then in 1913, they returned to the house on Colfax Street.

Harvey progressed through the Blair school system, but failed to graduate from high school for lacking a single credit. In 1919, high school graduation didn’t matter as much. World War I beckoned him while still in high school. He tried to enlist, thinking it was the patriotic thing to do, but parental consent was required and the military would not accept him until he was 18.

In the period during and after World War I, he drove an Indian motorcycle and had numerous accidents that skinned him but never left him seriously hurt.

In 1922, he joined the U.S. Marines and served on board three ships. They were a hospital ship (Relief), the flagship of the battle fleet (Procyon) and then battleship Pennsylvania (later damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941). He was encouraged to try boxing at one time but that didn’t last long. And near San Francisco, he was chased up a tree by a pack of mountain lions before being rescued by some of his shipmates.

Harvey enjoyed sea duty and the voyages along the west coast, Hawaii, the Panama Canal, Cuba and the West Indies. Most of the time, Harvey saw duty in and around San Pedro and San Francisco. He claimed he didn’t get seasick on the ocean, but did later on Lake Michigan. In October, 1924, he was honorably discharged with a character rating of excellent.

After leaving the service, he came back to the Blair area, and then went to Florida for about a year, where he worked for a land developer, clearing land of palmetto brush and other vegetation. When the developer went broke, he headed back to Blair. Harvey married Martha Sundquist in 1926 and then moved to Chicago for a job as a cashier for a large auto distributor. His employer was located just one block away from Al Capone’s headquarters, though he never ran into the gangster. Harvey didn’t like Chicago very well because it was too big with too many people. He was a small-town boy and liked small towns. In the later stages of the 1920’s, Harvey worked for the Latta Chevrolet agency in Tekamah. He also worked in various jobs into the 1930’s that involved bookkeeping or selling. He had learned bookkeeping in the Marines but had also taken courses to acquire the skills he needed. He worked in Scribner, Columbus, Tekamah, Omaha and western Iowa doing various selling jobs, including selling Fuller Brushes door to door. In Omaha, he worked for the Omaha Bee in selling advertising space. He had to go about this job largely on foot throughout the northern part of Omaha.

Harvey returned to Blair and found a job as bookkeeper with Vinton Chevrolet. Then in the early 1940’s, Harvey heard of a unique opportunity from a friend, Zenith Smith. That opportunity was the chance to go to Alaska and work for contractors on the Alcan Highway, which linked the road system through northern Canada into Alaska. Harvey and a friend were hired in 1943 and Harvey was employed as a truck driver. Initially his job involved unloading the prefabricated houses that were shipped up to house workers on the highway. Later, Harvey and others went by narrow gauge railway from White Horse to Skagway in the Yukon area. There he worked with carpenters and builders as they made an addition to the railway roundhouse.

Harvey loved the Yukon where the scenery was beautiful. With only a few thousand workers and soldiers in the area, it had a small-town feel. There was another bonus: despite the war, there was no rationing in either Canada or Alaska.

Following the time in the Yukon, Harvey again came home to Blair. He worked briefly for a trucking firm (Denver-Chicago), and then purchased the Fairway Transfer in 1945 with his partner Richard Zimmerman.

This time, Harvey stayed in the area. He also took and active interest in local politics. For several years, he served on the city council. Then, in 1967, he was elected mayor and served in that office until 1971. As mayor, he was involved in bringing into the Blair area businesses that would have little impact on the taxpayers if the business did not succeed. He enjoyed his time serving the city. He felt there were nice people; good members and he really enjoyed working with them.

In 1971, Harvey retired from public service, and also the trucking firm.

In 1957, Harvey married Ora “Sis” Pedersen and they had a beautiful relationship for all the years of their marriage. They moved from their home in southeast Blair to the Crowell Home in 1999. Sis passed away in March 2004. Harvey then moved to an assisted living facility in Lincoln for a few months before transferring to the Tabitha Care Home, where he passed away on the evening of August 23, 2004 at the age of 103. The staff of these locations often thought of Harvey and his sense of humor.

One of the mysteries about my father was why he liked the song “Alice Blue Gown”. I had first heard this song as played by the Glenn Miller Orchestra and really enjoyed it. When listening to it, I sometimes wondered by my dad had an interest in this son. Did he once have a girl friend by the name of Alice? But when with him, I never remembered to ask about the song. In recent years, I started reading his mother’s journal entries to him and he would give me feedback that would add a lot to the stories. These journals, including those of his aunt, covered the years from 1892 to 1946. Then one day a journal entry reminded me to ask him about the song. It turns out, in his teens he had a friend who had a saxophone. Sometimes Harvey would borrow it and attempt to play it. One song he learned to play on it was…you guessed it…mystery solved! –Wayne.

[Much of this history was provided by an article written by Melissa Rice of the Blair Pilot=Tribune and issued on February 27, 2001 in commemoration of his 100th birthday on March 2, 2001. The original article was updated with additional information by Wayne Simpson and provided herein.] A Memorial Service for Harvey V. Simpson

March 2, 1901 ~ August 23, 2004

A Celebration of his life

August 31st, 2004 at 11:00 a.m. St. Mary’s Episcopal Church Blair, Nebraska. The family invites you to join them for lunch in the basement of the church following the service.

Prelude: “My Alice Blue Gown”—Written in 1919; Hymn “Sweet Hour of Prayer”. Collect and Prayers. First Reading: Job 19: 21-27; Psalm 23; Hymn “Thy Word”; Gospel: John 11: 21-27. Officiate: The Rev. Linda Roberts. Homily: Mother Linda Roberts. Organist: Clare Cowing. Apostle’s Creed. Prayers of the People. Hymn “On Eagle’s Wings”. The Great Thanksgiving. The Lord’s Prayer. The Breaking of Bread. Post Communion Prayer. Blessing and Dismissal. Hymn: “Precious Lord”. Postlude.

~~~Obituary and funeral leaflet courtesy of Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings and leaflets on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska~~~

FindaGrave # 210441321