USAFA Class Histories

The following Tribute and Biography of Bill Simpson was written by his friend and room mate in his first class year, Robert Parlette.

"Bill Simpson was my good-natured room mate two different times.  We shared our full first class year together.  I got to know him well. A cynic by instinct, he had incredible insight into what made people tick and an uncommon dose of common sense.  But it was his ready laugh and great sense of humor that made him so easy to be around and endeared him to his fellow skeptics.

Bill was born in Ithaca NY, a college town.  Both parents were educated at Cornell University.  Bill's dad was a prominent attorney and later a NY Supreme Court Judge.  Bill had two younger sisters and two younger brothers. Although his parents wanted him to attend an Ivy League school, Bill had his heart set on getting in to the newly formed USAF Academy.

Academics were a snap for him.  In retrospect, it is not surprising that he had a natural affinity for the study of law since his father was a Supreme Court Judge from Ithaca NY.   I remember Bill coming back from his law class with Captain Frisby sharing his delight in Frisby's teaching style and humorous selection of case studies (he particularly liked the case of the lady who got a treat instead of a treatment from her gynecologist).

My recollection was that Bill had a bit of a problem keeping his lunch down on his dollar ride, and perhaps some of the other "motivational" air journeys we were exposed to.  So he decided in our senior year to forego pilot or nav training and to go directly to graduate school.  Bill's first choice naturally was to go to law school.  I believe that with Captain Frisby's encouragement, Bill took the LSAT (law school aptitude test) while the rest of us took the standard Graduate Record Exam.  I remember Bill telling me, with an adequate dose of humility, that he got an 800 score.  Not until  I took that same exam some five years later did I come to realize that his was a perfect score -- a score good enough to get him an Air Force paid free ride to Harvard Law School right out of the Academy.  I believe Bill was the first USAFA graduate to go directly into law school.  While in Law School at Harvard, Bill met his lovely wife Judy.  After graduation and a whirlwind courtship, Bill and Judy got married and shipped off to his first duty assignment in Germany.

Bill served most of his time in the Air Force as a JAG officer at Hanscom Field near Boston.  After his Air Force stint, Bill was hired on as corporate counsel for Susquehanna Broadcasting where he shortly proved his mettle and became CEO of one of this family owned business's subsidiaries -- Pfaltzgraph China in York PA..

Since Bill and I lived on opposite ends of the continent, we didn't get a chance to see each other often, but we did stay in touch through Christmas cards and at AFA reunions.  In his classic non-complaining style, I did not learn of his affliction with the terrible disease known as ALS until last Christmas.  ALS is a terrible disease where one gradually becomes paralyzed trapped in your own body while your mind continues to function perfectly.  Normally the disease progresses gradually over a period of three to five years, but in Bill's case the progression was much faster.  I had planned to go back to Bill's home in York PA to visit this past June, but Bill checked out a bit prematurely.  My mother had died from this same dread disease, so I knew what Bill and his wife Judy were in store for.  Though I was upset that Bill left this earth a little early preventing our get together, I was was glad for his sake he didn't have to suffer any longer.

Among Bill's most wonderful traits were his loyalty, gratitude, and generosity. He was all about service to his country.  His intellect and  understated nature were ever present.  He was a devoted family man who always found time for his three children even though he had many corporate responsibilities. 

His favorite times were vacationing at the family home on Cape Cod where he enjoyed fishing, playing tennis, and times with his children and grand children. 

I know he was incredibly generous with not only with his money, but more importantly with his time. He never forgot what the USAF had given him and gave back in spades. He was an enormous supporter of the USAFA and a loyal Falcon football fan.   And from our conversations, I know he gave much time and energy to his family and community and left York PA a better place. Whenever he had a chance,  he would take in a USAFA football game.  He served several years on the Board of the USAFA's Association of Graduates and was a big donor of time and money.

As stated by his son Jeff at his memorial service:  'His final lesson (to his children) was how to face adversity with determination.  He battled ALS  for over two years and though it robbed him of his ability to walk and use his arms and, eventually, to talk, his mind stayed sharp.  He did not shut down or shrink away from the community....If anything his hardwired sense of family, service and duty gave him the spark he needed to forge ahead.'

So here's to you Bill, though I can't physically be here for your cup turning ceremony, and even though we didn't get to take that transcontinental train ride we so often talked of, My thoughts are with you!  You were a great room mate and a wonderful guy."

Bill died in early May 2012.