Jack Albert Simpson
July 17, 1939 – July 06, 2021
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
From: INVICTUS
W.E. Henley
We thank God for the unconquerable soul of Jack Albert Simpson, Sr., who passed away on Tuesday, July 6th, 2021, after a long and hard-fought battle with both prostate cancer and leukemia. Jack’s indomitable courage was surpassed only by his grace, and he remained stoic, hopeful, and in good cheer throughout. Jack was 81, just 11 days shy of his 82nd birthday.
Jack was born July 17th, 1939, in the mill hamlet of Carleton, Yarmouth Co., Nova Scotia, to Alma Constance (Savoie) and George Milford Simpson. Jack was married to the love of his life, Judith Anne (Anderson) Simpson ~ Judy, on May 13th, 1961, and with whom he celebrated his Diamond ~ 60th Anniversary this past spring. Jack and Judy have three children: Robert (Bob), Jack Jr., and Christina.
Jack’s ‘hometown’ is Bedford, NS, the furthest point inland within Halifax Harbour. A small village in his day, it was an idyllic area with hilly forests and ample game, lovely streams and brooks and easy fishing, where Jack enjoyed a somewhat under-supervised Huckleberry Finn childhood. With a slingshot in his pocket, a sandwich in a satchel, and either a break-barrel rifle in the crook of his elbow or a fishing rod in his hand, he would walk right from his front porch into his own little paradise. This was Jack’s natural environment ~ tranquil, peaceful, unspoiled, and it formed who he truly was, a solitary man of lovely simplicity, great integrity, and deep seeded honour.
Very early on, Judy also knew that Jack was her true love, and through courtship, marriage, family, travel, adventure, and career, and all of life’s challenges, he would be a constant source of confidence and encouragement, love and support, and earnest partnership. Judy has always, and still thinks of Jack as the wind beneath her wings, her first and only love, and her so-very-genuine soulmate and friend.
Jack wasn’t perfect, but he was many good things, and he was absolutely authentic, and he allowed himself to grow as his years grew short. It was as though he had been ‘taking it all in’, and he was filled with appreciation. He began every morning with a kiss for Judy, and a deep, warm, lingering hug, and on April 28th this year, two weeks prior to their 60th Anniversary, with tears streaming down his face, Jack asked Judy to marry him once more. He was hospitalized for the final time a few weeks later, and they would not have their second wedding, but the moment will fill Judy’s heart forever.
Jack was a unique father, a wonderfully unique father, imparting wisdom and life-lessons with an endless repertoire of expressions, sometimes crass and slightly harsh, like sarcastic versions of Rudyard Kipling couplets from If. He occasionally quoted allusions to classic literature, and even the Bible, and sometimes those quotes bore some resemblance to the actual passage. In the funniest of words, he encouraged his children to be critical thinkers, humble with their opinions, and never to feel sorry for themselves. If a father’s parenthood could be measured by the love and loyalty of his children, Jack has parented well. Above all else, he made his children feel protected and secure, like ‘my Dad’s just like Clint Eastwood’ secure, and as with their childhood, he has been there for them their entire lives. There seemed nothing he could not do ~ he was a Jack-of-all-trades, and nothing was too much to ask of him.
Jack was famously a great story teller, and with incredible whit and and self-deprecation, his stories most-often made light of a personal foible, or a self-inflicted injury, and often while hunting, fishing, or having something to do with a truck or a boat or a campfire, perhaps all of the above, or hockey; and most often with a great friend from the Air Force, a fellow hunter or fishing pal, or a hockey team mate. The mayhem and the stories seemed impossibly limitless. His famed mechanical acumen would sometimes get him into as much trouble as it would solve, and with respect to fishing, the rougher the sea, the further from land, the more likely Jack was to bring up the motor and adjust the carburetor. Whether on an epic trip from Kitimat, BC, well-out into Douglas Channel, or in a little outboard on Carson Lake, Alberta, or as a young man on the Sackville River upstream from Bedford or out in Bedford Basin, if a motor was involved, Jack would need to tinker with it. On one such occasion with son Bob, the other family fisherman, while adjusting a carburetor far from shore, a carb spring slipped through Jack’s fingers and was lost overboard. When Jack messed up, and he sometimes did, he had a priceless facial expression, and like a poker player’s tell, you knew he was in trouble. But he also had the adaptive skills of MacGyver, and he would always ‘buckshee’ something to get home safely… often late, but safe. These moments were all fodder for humour. Even late in life, in his most difficult moments, levity was his salve, humour was his balm, the half-full cup runneth over, and a good and amusing account of his day would be told.
Jack was very proud to have served in both the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). He joined the RCAF in 1956, at the age of 17, and would serve 27 years. With a strong technical and mathimatical aptitude, he was enlisted and trained as an aircraft Instrument and Electrical Technician, or I.E. Tech. He worked on several aircraft types in nearly all Air Force roles, but the most cherished years were with 1 Wing, Lahr, Germany, maintaining the CF-104 Starfighter, the Mach 2 ‘Widow Maker’, an iconic fighter-bomber of the Cold War. Having retired from the Canadian Forces in favour of Judy’s career and family in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Jack was beckoned once more to uniformed service in 1987, and joined the RCMP. He graduated from depot at the age of 48, would serve 10 years with the RCMP, and retired outright in 1997 with 37 years of combined service. In a very proud moment for both Jack Sr. and son Jack Jr., whose own RCAF service was inspired by his father, Jack Sr. would step forward with reviewing officer Lt General Scott Clements, and present Jack Jr. with his pilot’s wings, placing them on his chest at his Wings Graduation Parade in 1994. For graduating Air Force pilots, this is a time-honoured tradition between a serving father and son (parent and child).
An excellent junior hockey player in Halifax, Jack enjoyed the military hockey culture once operational, playing Senior ‘A’ hockey for the Moose Jaw Flyers (Saskatchewan) and the Greenwood Bombers (Nova Scotia) through his first 12 years of service. With a Canadian Forces Europe posting in 1968, he would join the Lahr Arrows HC of Europe’s International Cup League. He was a fast, smooth skating, rushing defensemen with a hard shot and a pension for long, crisp, break-out passes. As well as talented, he was also physical, and quite capable of dropping the gloves and throwing fists when he had to, and he would become an Assistant Captain with the Club in his second year. Playing against professional clubs in Europe was the highlight of Jack’s hockey career. A game program with a photo and write-up citing Jack as one of the league’s top defensemen has been kept as a family keepsake. After several knee injuries, and years away from the game, he returned to hockey as an Old-Timer with the CFB Namao (Edmonton) ‘Menopause Maulers’, enjoying great friendships, socializing for both he and Judy, and many years of tournament play.
With retirement, Jack enjoyed winter camping in the southwest United States with Judy, but with his cancer diagnosis in 2009, camping would become a close-to-home activity. Through-out his illness, he looked forward to camping most summer weekends with a great local camping group, including daughter Christina and son-in-law Kenny. Christina and Kenny were wonderful partners in this venture, and as the years passed, were selfless facilitators in extending Jack’s camping years through 2020. Camping has been Jack’s last great joy.
Although Jack’s final season will most assuredly be remembered for its rough sledding, his family and friends will remember most, and celebrate most-heartily his many seasons well-lived and well-loved, Jack will be missed.
Jack is predeceased by his parents, Alma (Savoie) and George Simpson, sisters and brothers-in-law Bernice (Simpson) and Jack Innes, Claire (Simpson) and Pat Paterson, brother William ‘Bill’ Simpson, parents-in-law Edith (Laidlaw) and Robie Anderson, Jr., sister-in-law Carol (Anderson) Hicken, nephew William ‘Bill’ Paterson, niece Judi (Paterson) Argento, and nephew Paul Anderson.
He is survived by his wife Judith ‘Judy’ Anne (Anderson) Simpson, children Robert ‘Bob’ (Reva) Simpson, Jack (Joanna) Simpson, Jr., Christina (Kenny) Simpson-O’Hearne, brothers-in-law David (Phyllis) Anderson, Ross (Karen) Anderson, Robie (Cathy) Anderson III, and William ‘Bill’ Hicken, grandchildren Ryan Hunter, Kaitlin (Pat) Simpson-McAndrews, Samantha Hunter, Shane Simpson, Brian Simpson, Jack Isaac Simpson and step-grand-daughter Olivia Andrews, great-grandsons Hayden Hunter, and Mason and Bryson Simpson, nieces and nephews Barbara (Moe) Muldowney, Jack (Betty Lou) Innes, Tom (Paulette) Innes, Michael (Christina) Innes, Carole Anne Paterson, Peter Paterson, Mary Jane Hicken, Heather Hicken, Ross Anderson, Jr., Nicole Anderson, Jimmy, Pina, and David Anderson, Jr., along with many great-nieces and nephews.
We are enormously grateful to, and thankful for the kindness, professionalism, and dedication of the many nurses, physicians, lab techs and staff at the Victoria General Hospital, Halifax. The breadth of care Jack has received over the years is humbling and beyond practical to detail, but with respect to his years of treatment for Leukemia and his more recent palliative care, we must recognize the Medical Day Unit on 4, like walking into Cheers for Jack, and where he received literally hundreds of transfusions administered by wonderful nurses supported by lab techs and Canadian Blood Services, and the Hematology Ward, 8A, where he received compassionate care for his final six weeks. We send a heartfelt “Thank you!” to the hundreds of silent heroes who have donated blood, and continue to do so. Blood has been the gift of life for Jack.
As per Jack’s request there will not be a funeral. Cremation has taken place. If any are so inclined, donations in honour of Jack may be made to Canadian Blood Services and/or The QEII Patient Essentials Fund. The latter is in direct support of patients who must commute and stay in Halifax at personal expense to receive medical care. Jack did not need this support, but he became well acquainted with many who do. Thank you!
Arrangements have been entrusted to T.K. Barnard Funeral Home – tkbarnardfuneralhome.ca – 85 Sackville Cross Rd. Lower Sackville, NS, B4C 2M2 (902) 457-5999.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Jack Albert Simpson July 17 1939 July 06 2021..
Death notice for the town of: Halifax, Province: Nova Scotia