Former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson, known for his sharp wit and bipartisan approach, passed away on Friday, March 14, 2025, at the age of 93, in Cody, Wyoming, following complications from a broken hip sustained in December.
The 6-foot-7-inch Wyoming Republican was honored by family, colleagues, and former presidents as a towering figure in American politics and physical stature.
“He was an uncommonly generous man,” Pete Simpson, his older brother, stated. He described him as extraordinarily generous, giving his time and energy freely in his political and personal life.
Former President George W. Bush commended Simpson as “one of the finest public servants ever to have graced our nation’s capital.”
Born on September 2, 1931, in Denver, Colorado, Simpson grew up in Cody, Wyoming. He admitted to engaging in reckless activities during his youth that sometimes led to legal troubles. After graduating from Cody High School in 1949, he attended the University of Wyoming, participating in football and basketball.
In 1954, Simpson married Ann Schroll from Greybull, Wyoming and joined the U.S. Army the same year, serving in the Fifth Infantry Division and the Second Armored “Hell on Wheels” Division in Germany. The couple marked their 70th wedding anniversary last summer with a community ice cream social attended by hundreds.
Following his military service, Simpson obtained his law degree from the University of Wyoming in 1958 and joined his father’s law practice, working there for 19 years. His political career began with his election to the Wyoming House in 1964, leading to his U.S. Senate seat victory in 1976.
Simpson came from a family with deep political roots in Wyoming. His father, Milward Simpson, served as governor, U.S. senator, and state legislator. His mother, Lorna Kooi Simpson, led the Red Cross in Cody and was part of the local planning commission.
During his three terms in the Senate from 1979 to 1997, Simpson was a leading Republican figure who helped align GOP senators with the party’s legislative goals during the Reagan administration. He served on several committees, including the Immigration Subcommittee and Veterans Affairs Committee, and was Senate Republican Whip from 1985 to 1995.
Simpson was known for his straightforwardness and often referred to politics as a “contact sport.”
Simpson was celebrated for his humor and memorable remarks. One of his well-known quotes was: “We have two political parties in this country, the Stupid Party and the Evil Party. I belong to the Stupid Party.”
By contemporary standards, Simpson would be considered a moderate. Though fiscally conservative and a self-proclaimed deficit hawk, he supported abortion rights and occasionally diverged from party orthodoxy on various issues. This independence contributed to his gradual decline from the Republican Party’s limelight.
Simpson sustained friendships across party lines, notably with Norman Mineta, transportation secretary under President George W. Bush, and Robert Reich, labor secretary under President Bill Clinton. His relationship with Mineta began when they met as Boy Scouts during World War II when Mineta’s family was interned as Japanese-Americans in the Heart Mountain War Relocation Center near Cody.
In later years, both men worked to raise awareness about the incarceration of approximately 120,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry during the war. Mineta, who passed away in 2022, once recounted Simpson being asked about the biggest difference between them as Republicans and Democrats. “Alan thought about it, and he said, ‘Well, I wear size 15 shoes, and he wears a size eight and a half’.”
After leaving the Senate in 1995, Simpson taught politics and media at Harvard University and the University of Wyoming. In 2010, President Barack Obama appointed Simpson to co-chair a debt-reduction commission. The group proposed a plan to save $4 trillion through tax increases and spending cuts, but it did not gain sufficient congressional support.
Simpson also supported criminal justice reform, opposing life without parole for juveniles and advocating for sentence reviews after appropriate durations.
Former President Biden awarded Simpson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022, recognizing his extensive career in public service.
Simpson chose not to seek re-election in 1995, stating, “Part of me said I could do this for another three or four years but not six. The old fire in the belly is out. The edge is off.”
Simpson is survived by his wife Ann, brother Pete, sons Colin and William, and daughter Susan Gallagher.
