Deceased January 24, 2020

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In Memory

We have been notified of the death of Dave Simpson on Jan. 24 at Hartford Hospital. Dave was among the White Plains (N.Y.) High School contingent who entered Amherst in the fall of 1950. He used to say he was an afterthought of a visit there by Dean Wilson but happy to have been chosen. He joined Phi Gam and was a French major, graduating magna cum laude and earning election to Phi Beta Kappa. As a member of the golf team, he was awarded the “A.” Other activities were participation in the glee club and concert choir, the Debate Council, WAMH, the Christian Association and the Amherst Christian Fellowship. He was a chapel monitor, and strict: no cheating on attendance. (I tried.)

Dave next spent a year in France on a Fulbright at the University of Dijon while receiving an M.A. from Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, followed by a stint in the Army in G2 in Berlin, acquiring the Commendation Ribbon with Metal Pendant.

In 1959 he began a 35-year career on the faculty of Loomis Chaffee School. Not only was he proficient in French, he also spoke Italian, German and Spanish and appreciated poetry. He held membership in the American Association of Teachers of French. Dave loved opera and classical music; he was a member of the Metropolitan Opera Guild and sang professionally at a number of churches in Connecticut. He was a strong supporter of the Fellowship of Christians in Universities and Schools.

Dave was single for his entire life, and we are unaware of any surviving relatives.

Hank Tulgan ’54

Comment:

Heath Moore, Loomis '67, Amherst '71: As a student at Loomis, you introduced me to the nuance of French literature with De Maupassant and spurred my desire to speak in other people's tongue.

But that was not enough, oh no, you introduced us to LeMonde and how to use language to influence the way people would interprete events. I was so taken, not just by your Sunbeam Tiger and how you pontificated on it, but by your opinions on everything in life. To the extent that when I was touched by Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence," I brought you my acoustical LP and asked you to give me your opinion. After you scrubbed it with a natural sponge, rinsed it, and dried it for your Sure stylus, I waited nervously for your opinion.

Well, I guess I had lots to learn, and thanks to you, I'm still on that path you introduced to us. Thank you, Mr. Simpson, for all you've done to influence my life.