Carmen Tschudi Simpson

Carmen Tschudi Simpson died peacefully on September 18, 2025, at the age of 93 at Aldersly Retirement Community in San Rafael, California. Carmen Sylvia Tschudi was born on September 5, 1932, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the daughter of Liliana Edwiges Elsa Saner and Enrique Carlos Tschudi, both Swiss Argentinians. She was raised on sheep farms in Patagonia and grew up surrounded by animals and nature; she was a life-long animal lover and garden enthusiast who was fascinated by plants, rocks, and the interesting facets of the natural world. This led her to the study of chemistry at the University of Buenos Aires, where she received her PhD in 1959. Her dissertation was a theoretical study of one of the states of electrons of the hydrogen molecule. Carmen came to the United States in 1960 for post-doctoral work in chemistry at Florida State University in Tallahassee. There she met her future husband, William Tracy Simpson, a chemistry professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, who was holding a guest appointment at Florida State. At the time, he was finishing his book on theories of electrons in molecules, a subject closely aligned with Carmen's own research. She critiqued the manuscript, and they worked together on topics related to quantum mechanics. They married in September of 1961 in Carmel, California. The Simpsons lived in Seattle until relocating to Eugene, Oregon, when Bill took a position at the University of Oregon. Following his retirement in 1977, they moved to Taos, New Mexico, and then San Luis Obispo, California. Bill Simpson died in March of 2000. Wherever Carmen lived, she was active in local garden clubs, community gardens, art museums, historic preservation, and civic organizations, and she took part in research groups that presented information on topics ranging from animals in Madagascar to women Nobel laureates to ancient furniture. She was modest but extremely erudite, and she read and spoke several languages fluently. She is survived by three children and one stepdaughter, Carlos Tschudi Simpson (Nicole Maestrano), Marjorie Simpson Went, John Whittelsey Simpson, and Elizabeth Simpson, along with four grandchildren, Cora Wyent, Bridget Went, and Chloé and Léo Simpson, as well as three great-grandchildren. In Argentina, she is survived by her nieces, Claudia and Fabiola Lanari, and Karen, Francisca, and Monica Fischbach, along with their families. Her stepdaughter Jane Kergan died in 1998. Carmen was an impressive intellect, a good friend to many, and a devoted wife and mother to her family, who will miss her kindness, her generosity, and her lively presence.