Legendary U.S. Senator Al Simpson, known as the “gentle giant,” who served voters in the state of Wyoming for nearly two decades until he opted not to seek reelection for his seat in 1998, has passed away at the age of 93. He was a member of the Republican Party.
Alan K. Simpson died on Friday morning. He was called the “gentle giant” due to being, well, a giant, with a height of 6’7.” He was first elected to the Senate in 1978 and inspired whole generations of GOP activists and yes, even some politicians, to start getting involved in the cause of liberty, which has led to Wyoming going deep, deep red.
“Today, our state and country mourn the passing of our dear Senator Alan Kooi Simpson,” U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) went on to write in a statement to Cowboy State Daily. “Al was larger than life and spent his entire life working on behalf of the state and people he loved. For 18 years in the U.S. Senate, 12 years in the Wyoming House of Representatives and 28 years as an elder statesman, he worked to make Wyoming a better place for our citizens and an even greater place to work and raise a family.”
“There was no stronger advocate for the needs, industries and interests of Wyoming. During his Senate tenure, he was repeatedly elected by his colleagues to serve in leadership as the Republican whip and was a close friend of both President Reagan and President Bush,” she continued.
A report from Trending News Politics revealed that Simpson spent the last days of his life at Spirit Mountain Hospice House, which is located in his hometown, Cody, Wyoming, after he began suffering from blood circulation problems in his feet and legs.
Born September 2nd, 1931, Simpson was a Silent Generation youth and son to former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Milward Simpson. He acted out in his upbringing only to be set straight upon enlisting in the U.S. Army after graduating from the University of Wyoming, he admitted in past interviews.
“It was the first time in my life that I couldn’t bullshit my way out of anything,” Simpson remarked in an interview from last summer. “They have a way of doing that in the Army.”
He returned to Cody after serving, completing law school, and passing the bar in 1958. He took advantage of his adjacent connection to politics by becoming his father’s campaign manager for his successful 1962 Senate campaign. Simpson’s first rung on the ladder to the Senate came while serving as a state lawmaker from 1965 to 1977, a time he spent sharpening his ability to work across the aisle when Republicans were in the minority.
“I watched him over 40-some years of friendship,” Rob Wallace, one of Simpson’s close friends and the former assistant secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said of the gentle giant. “He had that unusual ability to walk into a room with strangers and walk out an hour later with everybody thinking they just made a new best friend.”
During the height of his career in Congress, Sen. Simpson served as Senate Majority Whip between the years of 1985 to 1987 and then as Minority Whip from 1987 to 1995. Throughout his time in public service, Simpson credited his wife, Ann, with all of his success.
The two were married for 70 years. He leaves her and their three children behind.
“She’s my world, it’s that simple,” Simpson stated.
The former senator said in his interview with the daily that he hoped the epitaph on his headstone would say, “You would’ve wanted him on your side.”
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