Since former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson died on March 14 at 93, admiration and remembrances have poured in from politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures around the country.
On Monday morning in the small sanctuary of Christ Episcopal Church in Cody, it was time for the people closest to Simpson — his children, grandchildren and brother — to recount their own fondness for the towering Wyoming politician.
“He was authentic, genuine,” his son Colin Simpson said. “He changed lives. He was full of grace for his fellow humans … Dad’s good works will live on in all of us, in his thousands of good deeds and his thousands of friends and his thousands of letters. He will be well and long remembered.”
Those gathered for Simpson’s memorial service recounted a man of enormous wit and kindness whose hilarious observations helped ease life’s troubles.
“Al found the balance between making people laugh and unrelenting candor,” grandson Nick Simpson said. “He knew exactly who he was and what he stood for. But he also loved the absurdity of life. As he would put it: ‘If life was logical, men would ride side-saddle.’”
Though he is best known as a storied politician who served three terms as a U.S. senator, Simpson was also a husband, father, lawyer, brother, athlete and hooligan. He grew up in Cody and returned there after his time in D.C. to live out his life; the town’s history is inextricably linked to the Simpson family.
It was only appropriate that his final goodbye was held in the church where he and his family had worshipped. There, to a standing-room-only crowd, the people who knew him most intimately shared anecdotes of a remarkable life honed with a dagger-sharp humor. All agreed that Wyoming residents are better for having known Simpson.
“He is gone now, but not really. Because he lives in all of us,” daughter Sue Simpson Gallagher said. “I will carry [his] spirit, love and kindness into every day for the rest of my life. I encourage all of you to do the same.”
The kid from Cody
Alan Kooi Simpson was born on Sept. 2, 1931 to Milward and Lorna Kooi Simpson. He grew up in Cody with his older brother, Pete, who would be his dearest friend in life. The brothers got into plenty of trouble during their time, though Pete Simpson joked Monday that as the eldest, he was mostly just the getaway driver.
Simpson didn’t speak until he was 3 years old, Pete Simpson said, after which he never stopped.
Both sons attended the University of Wyoming. It was there that Simpson met Ann Schroll, who Pete Simpson described as the biggest catch on campus. When his little brother told him he intended to marry her, Pete was incredulous. Simpson was a little stung.
“I felt that he had lucked out,” Pete Simpson said. “And look here. Look at this family. Look at this result, this legacy. Yeah, he lucked out, certainly we all did.”
This was one of many tributes to Ann, who was credited with stabilizing her husband and for being an unerring matriarch.
Simpson’s political career began in 1964 when he was elected to the Wyoming Legislature as a representative of Park County. He spent 13 years as a state lawmaker.
In 1978, Simpson won a U.S. Senate seat. He was re-elected twice, serving for 18 years. His role as whip — combined with powerful positions held by cohorts like fellow Wyomingites Dick Cheney and Malcolm Wallop — represented an unprecedented level of prominence for the Equality State that has since waned.
Much has been made of Simpson’s across-the-aisle work in Washington and his policy and professorial roles, but Monday’s service was more about the personal Al Simpson touches. The way he read “Wind in the Willows” to his children before bedtime, the Frankenstein costume he often donned for Halloween, his love of fine art and his devotion to sustaining his 70-year marriage with Ann. The way he encouraged those around him to take risks, be quick to forgive and love generously.
As a politician, Simpson’s currency was people and his expertise was communication, family members said, and he was perfectly suited for that vocation.
“He had uncommon, unconditional generosity,” Pete Simpson said. “And the love he felt underpinned everything that he did.”
Al and Ann Simpson championed Wyoming in every far-flung venue they found themselves, Pete Simpson said.
“When they went back to Washington, when he went into all of those grand parties, when they went into those halls of the powerful and the elite … they carried Wyoming with them,” Pete said.
When the Simpsons returned to Cody, Al and Ann poured their energy into bolstering Wyoming with contributions to institutions such as the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and the University of Wyoming. In the wake of his death, it feels to many in Cody that a landmark as large as Heart Mountain has fallen, said Rev. David Fox.
“He lightened our weary, weighted and worried souls,” Fox said. “He was a joy to be with.”
“Al is the kind of man that took nothing that he didn’t give back in spades,” Pete Simpson said, before closing with an excerpt from an Edwin Harkham poem about Abe Lincoln’s death. “He went down, as when a lordly cedar goes down, with a great shout upon the hill, and leaves a lonesome place in the sky.”
“Goodbye Al,” Pete said, to a standing ovation.
Chuckles and belly laughs
Monday’s service capped off a week of remembrances and rites that passed in true Simpson fashion — with a whirlwind tour through the state.
The one-time statehouse legislator lay in state in Wyoming’s Capitol for roughly 30 hours last week in Cheyenne, where family, friends and admirers paid their respects to his flag-draped coffin.
Events then moved to the University of Wyoming, Simpson’s beloved alma mater, where on Saturday a who’s who of dignitaries shared anecdotes and laughs over the lanky senator. Emcee and former UW Foundation president Ben Blalock introduced congress members, tech CEOs, former senate staffers and governors. He read a letter from Simpson’s old Senate colleague, Joe Biden, who called Simpson “a man of enormous decency and integrity.”
Speakers emphasized Simpson’s character, his mischief, his family and his stalwart love of the University of Wyoming, which he and Ann endowed with high-profile visitors and fundraising help. Speakers returned again and again to his humor and his proclivity to tell the same joke ad nauseam.
Former UW president Philip Dubois recalled returning to Laramie for the 2024 dedication of the Alan K. Simpson Center for Clinical and Experiential Learning in the College of Law, where Simpson spoke.
“He was so typically Al on that occasion,” Dubois said. “He reminded us that the Simpson Center was the only building on this campus named after a C student. That he ranked 18th in his class, out of 18. And, how many times have you heard that ‘he didn’t graduate cum laude, but thank the laude.’”
Former aide Mike Tongour shared a rare unheard Simpson witticism.
“Just when you all thought you hadn’t heard any fresh Simpson material lately, let me channel a bit from a memo I just found that hasn’t seen the light of day for 35 years,” he said before reading:
“An administrative note of intimate detail. The bum fodder, also known as toilet paper, in my Capitol office is industrial strength. Fine-grained sandpaper. Is there anyone in the government that uses Charmin or other soft, delightful tissues? If not, then please buy me some. I’ll pay cash money out of my pocket.”
Tongour went on to speculate about all the rich conversations the insatiably curious Simpson will enjoy in heaven — with figures like Mark Twain and Milward Simpson, Norm Mineta and George Bush.
“God bless you, lovable, curious, hilarious Al,” he concluded.
Speakers also struck earnest notes in recalling a remarkable lifetime of achievement.
Rev. Allen Doyle of Laramie noted that Simpson “taught not politics, but morals.”
“He was the Cowboy Code before we had a Cowboy Code,” U.S. Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming said. “He was our native sun, he was our north star, he was our rock star.”
“We all know Al’s humor and his warmth and his love,” Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney said. “But he was a huge intellectual.”
Even Cheney, however, couldn’t help but drop one funny anecdote when she recalled a sage pearl of wisdom he gave her. “‘The thing you have to know, Liz, about the seniority system of the United States Senate, is that it’s just like a cesspool. And the biggest turds rise to the top.’”
She chuckled and apologized before composing herself.
“What a man, what a life,” Cheney concluded.
CORRECTION: A cutline in this story previously misidentified a church acolyte. -Ed.
As I read your tribute to Sen.Simpson, I was struck by the comments from Sen. Barrasso: “He was the Cowboy Code before there was a Cowboy Code, he was our North Star.”
This from a man who apparently has aspired to be neither. Just more political BS.
Here is a quote from Sen. Simpson that our three electeds as well as the Governor should sleep on every night. “When your party becomes more important than your country, that’s a problem.”
No mention of his role in smearing Anita Hill throughout the Thomas hearings. I wonder if he ever apologized to her.
And let’s please remember that “Cowboy Ethics” was written by a Wall Street trader who had little to do with the actual way of life in the West.
“This country would be a lot better off if people would only stop sucking sucking the teat of Social Security”
Retired US Senator Al Simpson – sucking a much bigger teat than anybody who qualified for SSI benefits.
you’re the epitome of class mr. skaggs.
/s
In a long conversation with Al after his Senate career, we agreed on the importance of the Equality State Policy Center to Wyoming as an advocate for government transparency, open meetings, accountability, and voting rights. Encouraged, I asked him for a contribution. I was the ED after all.
“Oh god, no,” he said. “They’d kill me.”