August 12, 1942 - January 15, 2019
A man's man, a wonderful father and grand-father, a loving son, a great brother, a ride-or-die friend, an uncle and a devoted husband.
Earl was born in Yazoo, Mississippi on August 12, 1942. He was the 5th of eight children to Leon and Mary Simpson. The Simpsons migrated to Chicago, IL when Earl was a young child. He attended Chicago Public Schools and graduated from Westcott High School. He attended two semesters at Loop Community College. In 1962, Earl married the love of his life Jean; a woman, who in his eyes could walk on water. From their union was born three daughters, Desire'e, Jil, and Earla.
Earl worked at Carson Pierre Scott in Chicago Loop and was a very successful women's shoe salesman. His tenure ended as a result of an accident whereby he was the victim of carbon monoxide poisoning. This left Earl permanently disabled resulting in short term memory loss. However, he remained highly functional and his vibrant personality remained unchanged.
Earl was a good and gentle man who loved his family. He enjoyed reading the newspaper cover-to-cover with a morning cup of coffee, watching the news and engaging in political debate, sports, listening to the Stylistics and select Doo-wop groups, doing a smooth hand dance and grilling (everything!) Earl was very keen with numbers and was often referred to as luckiest man alive, winning the pick-three lottery at least every two weeks. He also loved his church family; dear friends in the Christian Support Group; traveling abroad; attending the annual Simpson Family Reunion; going to professional events with Jean.
Earl loved everything Chicago... the weather, politics, sports teams, family parties, Chicago-style Polish sausages and always looked forward to coming home. Earl never complained when he was feeling bad and was always willing to help someone. He loved life and lived it to the fullest.
Earl was a 4th Degree Brother in the Knights of Columbus for over 35 years. He participated in various activities with his favorite being the Christmas tree sale and the Tootsie Roll donation-drive. He loved the regalia associated with this esteemed organization.
In August of 2013, Earl contracted the West Nile Virus, slid into a coma and suffered a second brain injury that had unknown and unpredictable complications. In the years following, his health steadily declined.
Earl and Jean celebrated 56 years of marriage on September 9, 2018.
In the pre-dawn hours, on January 15, 2019, he made his peaceful transition.
To morn his lost, he leaves his wife, Dr. Jean Simpson; his daughters, Dr. Desire'e Simpson; Jil (Jonathan) Ross from Chicago; Earla (Benjamin) Jones. His siblings Leon (Delois) Simpson, Marguerite McCrary, Mattie (Walter) Denning, Mylon Simpson and Jerome Simpson. His brother and sisters-in law, James Fisher, Burma Weekley and Gus Pyles (deceased). Earl's parents Leon and Mary Simpson (Carter), sister Tahira Lateef, and brother Eugene Simpson preceded him in death. Earl has four grand-children who he loved dearly; Julian Ross, Jace Ross, Adelina Jones and Marielle Jones. Earl cherished very special nieces Carla Wood, Loxi Armstrong and Ryla Palmer-Fisher, Goddaughters Kim Bowens, Marshawnda Burke and Sandra Offett. He had several nieces, nephews, cousins and friends who will miss him dearly and many foster children. |