William Richard Simpson Jr.

b. 5 June 1908, d. 26 May 2008
  • William Richard Simpson Jr. was born on 5 June 1908 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • He was known as Dick.
  • William Richard Simpson and Mae Gail (?) appeared in the US federal census of 15 April 1910 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Other members of the household included William Richard Simpson Jr.
  • William Richard Simpson and Mae Gail (?) appeared in the US federal census of 1 January 1920 in Coffeyville, Montgomery County, Kansas, at 910 Lincoln. Other members of the household included William Richard Simpson Jr.
  • He was employed by an oil refinery as a foreman, according to the 1940 census.
  • The following appeared on 8 February 1941 in the Olean Times-Herald: Mrs. Mary Cannon Simpson, widow of the late W. H. Simpson who served as Mayor of Olean during 1914 and 1915 and who for many years was a business and civic leader of this city, died suddenly at her home, 235 North Second Street, Friday night at eleven o'clock.
         Mrs. Simpson had not recently been in poor health and death was unexpected.
         Born at Port Colborne, Ont., Canada, Mrs. Simpson had lived in this city for the past sixty-three years. Although prominently known, her activities were limited to the interests of her family and her only public office was that of vice-president of the firm of W. H. Simpson, Inc., which post she held at the time of her death.
         Mr. Simpson, founder of the firm and one of Olean's pioneer business leaders passed away July 1, [sic] 1929. Three sons born to Mr. and Mrs. Simpson have also all passed away.
         Survivors include one daughter, Mrs. C. W. Stackhouse, this city; two grandsons, T. Hayes Simpson, Tulsa, Okla., and W. Richard Simpson, Wellsville, and a niece, Mrs. Joseph Reeb, Port Colborne, Ont.
         Funeral services will be held at the home Monday afternoon at two-thirty o'clock. The Very Rev. Joseph Groves, rector of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, will officiate. Burial will be in Mount View Cemetery.
  • The following appeared on 13 December 1950 in the Olean Times Herald: Among four wills probated in Surrogate Court in Belmont /[Allegany County/]. . . .
         By the will of Mrs. Mae Gail Simpson, Wellsville, who died November 15, all of her personal and real property estate was bequeathed to a son, William Richard Simpson, same village. First Trust Company and the son, both Wellsville, are executors.
  • The following appeared on 29 February 1956 in The Cuba Patriot & Free Press: John J. Deignan, general sales representative of Sinclair Refining Co., and William Richard Simpson, assistant superintendent technical, of the company, both from Wellsville, will be heard at the monthly meeting of Cuba Chamber of Commerce scheduled for Monday, March 5. . .
         Mr. Simpson worked with Sinclair in Chicago after studying at Cornell university, and came to Wellsville in 1930 when the refinery was rebuilt there. He has a thorough knowledge of the oil business, and is well versed in economics. . . .
  • The following appeared on 7 March 1956 in The Cuba Patriot & Free Press: Approximately fifty members of Cuba Chamber of Commerce heard representatives of Sinclair Refining Co., Wellsville, give assurances of a sound economic future for Allegany county's oil fields; and viewed a movie film on "People, Products and Progress in 1975", at their monthly dinner meeting Monday evening at Hotel Kinney.
         William Richard Simpson, assistant superintendent in production at the Wellsville refinery, was the principal speaker, expressing confidence that oil products from this territory would enjoy an unlimited production and distribution in the future with the cooperation of customers in the area buying Pennsylvania grade products.
         He gave a brief history of the Allegany oil fields, noting that the crude production has dropped in recent years from 10,000 to approximately 6,000 barrels daily. Mr. Simpson said, however, that there was plenty of oil still underground, that the decrease was only that less drilling for recovery was going on.
         Referring to the special characteristics of Pennsylvania Grade crude produced in the Allegany and Bradford districts, Mr. Simpson spoke of efforts to get more of the crude used in specialty products in which its quality put it beyond technical possibilities of competition. In that line, he noted a type of wax used for wrapping of frozen foods and cheese, when made from Pennsylvania crude, is far superior to that made from any other crude oil.
         The economic factors favoring the area-produced oils mentioned by the Wellsville man includes the fact that Pennsylvania Grade crude produces about four times as much lubricating oil per barrel of crude than do average mid-continent and western oils, plus the need of expensive, technically involved refining procedures to achieve the desirable lubricating characteristics from those oils.
         Edward J. McNamara, special sales representative of Sinclair, answered questions brought out in the discussion, and distributed samples of lubricating oil to members at the meeting. . . .
  • The SSDI lists Houston, Harris County, Texas, as the last residence of record of William Richard Simpson Jr.
  • William Richard Simpson Jr. died on 26 May 2008 at age 99.
  • The following appeared in the Houston Chronicle: William Richard Simpson, Jr., 99, passed away on Monday, May 26, 2008. "Dick" was born in Philadelphia, PA on June 5, 1908. He graduated from Cornell University and worked for over 40 years in the energy industry for Sinclair/ARCO. In retirement Dick loved to cook, travel, garden, and share morning walks with his wife, Catherine and his dog, Klaus. He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Catherine; his daughter, Gail Branca and husband John; and his beloved grandchildren Christopher and Allison. The family will gather for a private service. Memorials to his memory may be made to the American Heart Association.
  • Last Edited: 25 Apr 2014