Dorothy Christine Simpson
Dorothy Christine Simpson, April 9, 1928 to January 31, 2021
Dorothy Christine Simpson, beloved mother, grandmother and great grandmother passed on to the next level on January 31, 2021 in Scottsdale,
Arizona, due to complications from Covid 19. She was born to her parents, Madison and Margaret
Walter, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 9,
1928. Shortly after her birth, her father was transferred by the Royal Bank of Canada to Montreal,
Quebec, where she subsequently grew up. Dorothy or “Dodie” as she came to be known, was a member of our “greatest generation” and experienced the great depression and rationing during World War Two. She loved paddling her canoe on Lac De Sables at her cottage at Ste. Agathe and attended McGill University in Montreal, where she was a member of the drama society and performed in the university play productions. She graduated from McGill in 1950.
Dodie met her husband, Melvin Simpson “Mel” in 1948, when he mustered out of the U.S Army after WWII, and they were married on October 14, 1950. Shortly after the birth of her first son in November 1951, she moved with her family back to Toronto. In Toronto she gave birth to four more sons and set about raising her family. During her time in Toronto, Dodie was active in various charities, including the Junior League and the United Appeal. She enjoyed the great outdoors, gardening at her farm near Orangeville, north of Toronto, and returning with her boys to her beloved Ste. Agathe to enjoy the lake in the summer and to ski in the winter. A lover of the great outdoors, Dodie was an avid skier and golfer.
In 1969 she moved with her husband and children to Paradise Valley, Arizona, where she lived the rest of her life. Dodie focused on raising her children, enjoying the Arizona climate, golfing with new friends at Paradise Valley Country Club and spending summers on Coronado Island. After the death of her husband, Dodie joined and became active in her church, Valley Presbyterian Church of Paradise Valley, where she sang in the choir, participated in the annual “Cook’s Tour”, visited shut-in church members and eventually became a Deacon in the church.
Dodie travelled extensively in her life, beginning in her late teens and early twenties. In her fifties, sixties and seventies she travelled even more with family members and friends, visiting countries from Russia to Antartica, Europe to South America, Alaska, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. The only place on her bucket list was Africa, where she wanted to see her beloved elephants. In the course of her life, Dodie met royalty, then Princess Elizabeth of Windsor, and a few movie stars here and there. A lifelong patron of the arts and an avid reader, she personified a line in one or her favorite poems, “IF” by Rudyard Kipling, “Or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch”. She treated everyone the same, with love, empathy and compassion, regardless of their station in life. Above all she cherished her family.
Dorothy is preceded in death by her parents and her husband. She is survived by her five sons, Scott, Mark, Madison (Matt), Jeff and David; her six grandchildren, Melanie Lindsley, Michael and Peter Simpson, Andrew Simpson, Christine and Kailie Simpson, and two great grandchildren, Miles Simpson and Wells Lindsley. Dorothy Christine Walter Simpson was universally recognized by all as being smart, kind, funny and she was loved by all who knew her. A woman of profound faith, she did not fear death and passed away peacefully with family members at her side. A Memorial Celebration of Dodie’s Life will be held on April 24, 2021 at 11:00 AM at Valley Presbyterian Church, 6947 East McDonald Drive, Paradise Valley, Arizona.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Dodie’s name to Valley Presbyterian Church.