Joseph H Simpson

1927 - 2015









Simpson, Joseph Henry

Joseph H. Simpson, 87, of New York, New York and Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, passed away peacefully on February 12, 2015 at the VA Medical Center in Charleston, SC. He was a veteran of WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, retiring as a Senior Master Sergeant after 33 years in the US Air Force.

Joe, or "Old Black Joe" his pen name, was the fourth child of Charles Stewart Simpson and Claudine Cobb Simpson both of New York. One of the "The Simpson 8" – (deceased) Charles, Frederick, Paul, Frank, Emily, John, and surviving brother, Donald. The former loving husband of six wives; (deceased) Juanita, Vivia, Mary, Loretta, Carmelina and survived by Barbara. Father of seven children, Joe, Ralph and Syri Simpson of Detroit, MI, Vivia Sherry Diggs (Fred), Tyiece Simpson Green, (Willie), of Houston, TX, Dominique Simpson Milton (William Jr.) and Kyle Simpson (Shalonda) of Charleston, SC. Grandfather of sixteen, great-grandfather of eight, and uncle to many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A wordsmith and a foodie, Joe loved poetry, art, scrabble and chess. Many days were spent with his friends in Washington Square Park in NYC where Joe was featured in a Scrabble Documentary, noted in the book: "Word Wars," and spotlighted in "Scrabble News." Old Black Joe received his 15 minutes of fame when "Scrabble News," devoted an entire front page to a twelve letter "Bingo" in which Joe played; the word "mulligatawny" - an East Indian Soup scoring 113 points.

Old Black Joe, of 448 Central Park West, will be missed by his family and friends. He never met a stranger.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like you to consider ordering Joseph Simpson's book: "Rambling Senryus by OBJ." You can sign up for release information at: http://ramblingsenryus.weebly.com.

A family memorial luncheon will be held on Saturday, March 14, 2015 in Charleston, SC, followed by a later military service at Arlington National Cemetery in VA.

Condolences for Joseph Simpson can be made at http://www.mccollom-myers.com.
Or via mail to: Dominique Simpson Milton, 3341 Merion Place, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29466.