hmtl5 James William “Bill” Simpson b. 2 Jul 1918 Monticello, Wayne County, Kentucky d. 2 Nov 2007: Robinson Genealogy

James William “Bill” Simpson

Male 1918 - 2007  (89 years)


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  • Name James William “Bill” Simpson 
    Born 2 Jul 1918  Monticello, Wayne County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Gender Male 
    Occupation owner and publisher of The Wayne County Outlook  [2
    _MILT World war II. US Navy, SM2.  [1
    Died 2 Nov 2007  [1
    Buried Elk Spring Cemetery, Monticello, Wayne County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Person ID I1799  Robinson
    Last Modified 6 Apr 2023 

    Father James W. Simpson,   b. 7 Mar 1881, Monticello, Wayne County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 5 Jan 1969, Pulaski County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 87 years) 
    Mother Elnora R. Robinson,   b. 16 Mar 1889, Clay County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 18 Feb 1956, Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 66 years) 
    Family ID F61  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Dolly Eileen Smith,   b. 20 Nov 1923, Corydon, Harrison County, Indiana Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 13 May 2013, Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 89 years) 
    Married 3 Oct 1951  [2
    Last Modified 6 Apr 2023 
    Family ID F751  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 2 Jul 1918 - Monticello, Wayne County, Kentucky Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - - Elk Spring Cemetery, Monticello, Wayne County, Kentucky Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Notes 
    • JAMES WILLIAM "BILL" SIMPSON
      July 2, 1918 - Nov. 2, 2007

      James William "Bill" Simpson, Jr., a former owner/publisher of The Wayne County Outlook and World War II veteran, died Friday, November 2, 2007. He was 89.

      In the U.S. Navy, Simpson was witness to some of the most important and decisive battles of World War II. As a newspaper owner, his career spanned the transition from hot metal type into the computer age.

      Born in Monticello, Ky. on July 2, 1918, he was the son of the late Elnora and J.W. (Jim) Simpson, Sr. and was a life-long resident of Monticello until moving to neighboring Somerset in 2005. He was a member of First Christian Church in Monticello.

      Simpson was raised in the newspaper business and worked as a newspaperman for nearly 50 years. His father had founded The Wayne County Outlook in 1904 and the family continued to manage the paper until it was sold in 1987.

      Simpson learned early in his life how to handset type and operate the presses at the newspaper office. In the late 1930s, while still a teenager, he was left in charge of the paper while his father was out of town. A traveling editor for Publisher's Auxiliary, a publication for the National Newspaper Association, chanced to stop by The Outlook for a visit. He was so impressed by the young man's command of newspaper production that he wrote a column for the publication noting the youngster's abilities.

      A 1938 graduate of Monticello High School, Simpson spent two years at the University of Kentucky before returning home. In 1942 he enlisted the U.S. Navy as part of the World War II effort.

      A signalman on the amphibious troop transport U.S.S. Thurston, Simpson saw action in North Africa, Sicily, Normandy, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He reported in a letter to his mother that watching the raising of the U.S. flag over Iwo Jima's Mt. Suribachi was "one of the most thrilling sights I have ever seen."

      After the war, Simpson returned to work with his father. While he wrote some articles for the paper, he served mainly as a printer, Linotype operator and publisher.

      On October 4, 1951 he married Corydon, Ind. native Dolly Eileen Smith, then a nurse at VA Hospital in Louisville. Residing in Monticello, the couple had two sons-Stuart born in 1952; and Jim in 1953.

      Simpson took part in civic activities over the years and was proud of coaching Little League baseball teams.

      At the newspaper, he oversaw the transition in the late 1960s and early 1970s from hot metal type to cold type, the offset printing process. With the new type of printing, the paper began using computerized typesetting methods and was one of the first in Kentucky to fully incorporate desktop publishing into the production in the mid-1980s.

      After the family sold the paper in 1987, Simpson retired from the business. He remained very interested in Kentucky's newspapers and was an avid reader.

      His parents and a sister, Margaret, preceded him in death.

      His wife; two sons; a sister, Lytha Ann Underwood; and a grandson, Will Simpson, survive him.

      Funeral services were held Sunday, November 4, 2007 with the Hoyt G.

      Hickey and Son Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

      The family requests that expressions of sympathy take the form of donations to the American Cancer Society and Hospice of Lake Cumberland.

      Lexington Herald-Leader, Lexington, Kentucky. Sunday, 4 November 2007.

      [1, 2, 3]

  • Sources 
    1. [S3] Find a Grave.

    2. [S21] Obituary.

    3. [S31] Newspaper article, newspapers.com.