James E. Simpson ’52
Body
Jimmy’s 2008 Christmas greeting was a photo of him cavorting with a danseuse on Bourbon Street. Four years after receiving a liver transplant, he exited dancing March 10, 2009.
Jimmy came to us from Loomis Institute. At Princeton he majored in history and was a member of Quadrangle. After serving in the Field Artillery in Germany and attending the University of Virginia School of Law, he returned to his beloved Birmingham, Ala., where he practiced law for over 50 years with Lange, Simpson, Robinson & Somerville.
He was a trustee of the Birmingham Museum of Art and a member of the advisory boards of the English department of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and of the College of Arts and Sciences at Samford University. A lifelong student of history, he also served as vice chairman of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, among many other leadership roles.
An avid traveler and linguist, he was fluent in French and could converse in German, Spanish, Italian, and Czech.
The class extends its condolences to his former wife, Sandra; their sons, James E. Jr. and Karl Alexander Simpson; grandchildren Forest and Peter; Jim’s brother, Henry; and his beloved companion, Mary Steiner. His was a full life epitomized by the joy of living.
Paw in print
Image
The Latest Issue
November 2025
NASA’s new IMAP mission, London’s big data detective, AI challenges in the classroom.
No responses yet