Greg Simpson

Gregory Joseph “Greg” Simpson

August 23, 1948 – June 10, 2020

Born in Sidney, BC as the first child of Joe Simpson and Annabelle Galloway, Greg and his two beloved sisters, Wanda and Nadine, were raised by Joe’s older sister, Clara, and Clara’s husband Bert Butterick. To Greg, ‘Aunt and Unc’ were Mom and Dad. Clara and Bert have long since passed, but have no doubt welcomed him with open hearts all over again. Greg leaves behind three daughters – Abby, Jacqueline, and Nikki Simpson, as well as son-in-law Aaron Carlson, and Judy (nee Graham) Simpson, the mother of his children and far and away his one great love (you just had to hear him talk about her), though they hadn’t been legally married for 30 years.

Family meant everything to Greg from the start. In high school, he introduced his good friend Jim Sinclair, the bass player of the Broom Town Band, the first he ever managed, to his sister Wanda. Jim and Wanda’s longevity as a couple gave him cause to take pride in telling this story for the next 60 years. He also leaves behind a half-brother, Mark Woolley, half-sister, Mavis Lopez, sister-in-law Robyn Graham Cherrie, nieces Kathy Sinclair and Amy Sinclair Erb, Tova Barnett, Michaela and Meredith Woolley, Natalie and Lauren Cherrie, nephews Natty Simpson and Elijah Barnett, great-nephews and great-niece Lachlan, Wolffy, Freddie, Makai, and Avery. He also loved Martin Barnett, Blair Erb, John Lucas, Brian Edwards, Celina Ronayne, and the Lumleys.

To Greg, his friends were family, too, and his daughters always knew that he had a small, benevolent army of music-loving hippies who respected everything from his knowledge to his loyalty, his optimism and his seemingly endless stash of pot. He loved them all. He considered almost everyone he met, in any capacity, an instant new friend. He spent 55 years in the Canadian music business, mostly in London, Ontario, in capacities that ranged from talent management to radio programming, conference facilitation to consulting. Biographies of his career and accomplishments already exist, which his daughters have noted in the days since his passing with pride and gratitude. Greg never made millions, but there was an air to him not unlike George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, if George, like Greg, had remained an unabashed optimist: The richest people you know are those so deeply loved. As Jacqueline noted recently, apart from obscure music trivia, Greg’s gift was love. He made sure that everyone he loved knew it every chance he got. If you gave him even a hint of an opportunity, he’d tell you how much he loved his three daughters, and how proud he was of everything they did. He was the recital-going Dad, the one at every after-school sports meet, the one who took your call after midnight when you wanted a ride home from the mall with your friends, who never insisted you use your bus tickets instead. We’re grateful to the neurologists and nurses at University Hospital who supported our family through this, with ongoing pandemic regulations, and to those who have reached out to us to offer support and condolences.

Plans for a Celebration of Life in London will be arranged for a time
after social gathering restrictions have eased. His ashes will be laid to rest
near his hometown, with Aunt and Unc. Charitable donations in his name have not
been pre-arranged, but Greg was an ardent supporter of the Forest City London
Music Awards and the Great Lakes Blues Society. Above all, though, Greg would
want you to live to love, as he did, and wouldn’t ask of you much more. Arrangements
entrusted with Cremation London & Middlesex, 519-858-2467. Online
condolences shared at www.cremationlondon.com