Jerome David Simpson

1943-2019

Jerome David Simpson, 75, of Canyon Country, Calif., died Feb. 1, 2019 at the Veterans Administration Sepulveda Hospital in North Hills after a brief and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.

Jerry was an antique radio repairman of the highest order. He operated Jerry’s Vintage Radio on Sierra Highway for more than 30 years.

A graduate of Alemany High of Mission Hills, Jerry enlisted in the Army and was assigned to radio teletype school in Fort Gordon, Ga. He spent two years in Korea spying on communications between China and North Korea. After an honorable discharge, he went to work for an aerospace company monitoring Air Force military satellite flights.

A job as a TV repairman at Sears led to a hobby in vintage radio repair, which evolved into a love affair with antique radios and his longtime storefront presence in Canyon Country. Jerry wore his trademark turquoise-blue reading glasses and an Albert Einstein T-shirt as he tinkered daily at his workbench, arms up to his elbows in the guts of a radio chassis from a bygone era. He operated out of a repair shop that smelled like someone had sprayed a can of WD-40 onto the 1950s.

The date of Jerry’s death landed coincidentally on the 43rd anniversary of his sobriety, which was a cornerstone of his life as a father and business owner.

Jerry was predeceased by his parents, Leonard Henry Simpson and Louise Eleanor Butterfield, and his sister, Rita. He is survived by his daughter, Jessica Simpson Kibler (Robert); grandchildren Alex, Ryan, Thomas, Theresa, Rebecca and Madison; great-grandchildren Lilith and Austin; his sister, Judy Davidson (Bob); nephew Brian Davidson; former wife Susan Finnegan Simpson; his close friends from AA and the Southern California Antique Radio Society; and his slow-moving cat, Butch.

Jerry will be interred with military honors at Bakersfield National Cemetery.