Wayne Alden Simpson

Wayne Alden Simpson, 81, passed away peacefully at home on January 22, 2023. He was born in Orange, California on January 19, 1942, and was the son of James and LaRue Simpson.

Wayne was preceded in death by his parents and his son in law, Tony DeAngelis. He is survived by his wife Nancy Simpson, daughter Pam DeAngelis of Cripple Creek, Colorado, daughter Stephanie Hagan (Eddie) of Apple Valley, California, grandchildren Justine (Alex), Dustin (Summer), Samantha and Madison (Eric), and great grandchildren James, River and Eleanor. Wayne loved his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephew, and great nephews and niece fiercely. And of course, he absolutely adored his yellow lab Cody.

Wayne was a graduate of Santa Ana High School, Orange Coast College and received a B.S. in Agribusiness from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He also completed coursework toward a Master's Degree in poultry-husbandry at the University of Missouri, Columbia.

In his youth, Wayne was an exceptional basketball athlete, and also spent many summers as a lifeguard at Bolsa Chica State Beach in southern California. He also participated in the Boy Scouts for several years. Wayne loved taking his family camping to the Colorado River and Lake Powell. And he was the finest water skier in the family!

Wayne was proud of the fact that he was one of the few native Californians left! He grew up in the Beach Boys era and had a wonderful childhood and youth near the beach.

Wayne had a variety of professional endeavors including serving as the Secretary of Treasury at the Jess Ranch Corporation in Apple Valley, California, serving as the General Manager at two different distributorships, and finally owning and operating a very successful residential homebuilding business, Simpson Construction in Victorville, California.

Upon retiring in Anderson, South Carolina, Wayne became a huge AU Trojans fan, supporting Nancy's teams and the student-athletes he loved so much. And he was a big Clemson Tiger fan, attending many games and bleeding orange!

He volunteered with Meals On Wheels, helping those less fortunate. Wayne and Nancy were also blessed to be able to travel in recent years, exploring many new areas! He was able to take his dream trip to Australia and New Zealand. But his forever Happy Place was Amelia Island where he and Nancy spent many weeks.

Wayne was truly larger than life and always young at heart. He had a wonderful sense of humor and made many laugh deeply and often. And even with his many health challenges, he never gave up and he fought the good fight. His heart and soul were beautiful and strong and he will be sorely missed.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 28, at Sullivan-King Mortuary, 3205 N Highway 81, Anderson, SC, conducted by Reverend Steven Lyle.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Meals on Wheels or to Anderson University Athletics.

Sullivan-King Mortuary

www.sullivanking.com