Obituary for
William Joseph Simpson
Heaven’s morning breaks
And earth’s vain shadows flee
Bill was the son of the William Andrew and Inez Simpson (Myers). His Scottish grandparents, Joseph and Margaret Simpson (Summers) inculcated in this their first grandchild the values, the customs, the music and a deep love of Scotland.
Bill always loved the water. He was born in Nova Scotia and lived the first few years of his life at Jeddore Oyster Ponds, thirty miles north of Halifax.
His father was fighting overseas in World War II at that time. He lived with his mother and grandmother and 12 beautiful young aunts who lavished him with love and affection. They lived on a height of land right beside the sea on the east and adjoining the fresh clear waters of Navy Pond on the North. This lovely piece of land which has now been made into the Fisherman’s Life Museum was granted to Bill’s ancestors more than 200 years ago when they moved into Canada as United Empire Loyalists.
As a young lawyer in Ottawa he found a nearby deep spring-fed lake where he built a secluded retreat right beside a swiftly moving stream.
To this idyllic place he and Rosemary gave the Name “Bright Water”. There the family lived from May to September every year for nearly 50 years while Bill and Rosemary commuted the 15 miles to work in Ottawa.
When Bill graduated from University of Ottawa Law School cum laude and was later admitted to the Bar with Honours, he began a very active career in the practice of law. He immediately proceeded into family law and into criminal defense work. He was involved with many high profile cases in most areas of the law. Over the years he became involved in teaching law, first lecturing in the Bar Administration course in Ottawa.
He was for many years seriously interested in the education of lawyers and so, co-founded the annual educational conference called “County of Carleton Law Annual Civil Litigation Update”. Bill organized and hosted this popular conference for 30 years up until 2015.
He actively took part in local and provincial law society governance starting by being voted in as president of the local County of Carleton Law Association. He also rose through many positions in the Bar Association and became President.
Another professional body he was involved with was as a director of the Advocates Society of Ontario. He and Rosemary travelled with this group over the years to Ireland, Scotland, England and Australia. They attended conferences in these countries and met with their senior lawyers and judges.
He was the founding and first president of the Medical Legal Society of Ottawa. The conferences and lectures of this organization enabled doctors and lawyers to share the most recent developments and innovations in their specialties. He became a Queen’s Counsel early in his career. Later he received the Distinguished Service Award of the Bar Association for his contributions to the development of law in Ontario.
At the height of his career he was recommended, by his colleagues, senior lawyers in the profession in 1994, to receive the prestigious Law Society Medal awarded for service in accordance with the highest ideals of the legal profession.
Bill was also elected by his fellow lawyers for several terms as Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario. There he served as a director, to determine governance of all lawyers in Ontario and was also responsible for discipline of fellow lawyers, up to and including disbarment.
For more than 20 years lawyers and judges of Ontario struggled with the problems presented by unregulated non-lawyers delivering legal services. Over several years Bill worked on this problem. After he held hearings all over the province with various agencies, lawyers and paralegals he spear-headed the process whereby paralegals who received proper education and training could be accredited and brought under the jurisdiction of the Law Society. This opened up access to justice for many more people who perhaps cannot afford services of lawyers, and at the same time ensuring that the public received professional and quality services. In recognition of his unique contribution to the regulation of the paralegals, an annual provincial prize for the most distinguished paralegal was instituted by The Law Society of Ontario and named for Bill, the William J. Simpson Distinguished Paralegal Award.
Bill co-authored the text book “Creditors Rights and Bankruptcy”. Bill is the subject of a new biography by Lynne Cohen entitled “Let Right Be Done”.
Bill is survived by his wife Rosemary (Vondette), and daughter Karyn (Michael Patton). Bill was pre-deceased by his son William Scott.
Bill is also survived and remembered lovingly by: his brothers Donald (Bonnie), Thomas (Susan), Edgar (Carol) and Joseph (Karen); his brother-in-law Terrance Vondette; his sister-in-law Kathryn Ann Vondette; his cherished niece Lynda Steege (Brad) and mother of Bill’s two special young protégés, Jacob and Jared; his beloved nieces and nephews Ian, Mark, Thomas, Donna, Jane, Stephanie, Julie, Ryan and Tiffany.
Mountains divide us and the waste of seas
Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides.
(The Canadian Boat Song, Thomas Moore 1804)
Friends are invited to visit at the Central Chapel of Hulse, Playfair & McGarry, 315 McLeod Street (at O’Connor) on Thursday, June 21 from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of Fatima Church, 153 Woodroffe Avenue on Friday, June 22 at 10 a.m., followed by a reception.
A donation in honour of Bill would be appreciated by the family to The Ottawa Hospital Foundation – Dr. Rebecca Auer Cancer Research.
Order Flowers
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de William Joseph Simpson 1940 2018.source
Décès pour la Ville: Ottawa, Province: Ontario
