Ethel Mildred (Simpson) Wilson |
| Posted 2009-10-12 by Judy Wight Branson |
| The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Saturday, October 10, 2009 Ethel Mildred (Simpson) Wilson, a true Arizona pioneer, 100-plus years of age, passed away on Sept. 30, 2009, with her children by her side. Ethel was born on Dec. 23, 1908, in Tucson, Arizona Territory, to Sidney Theodore Simpson from Floresville, Texas, and Tinina Mildred (Bercich) Simpson of Parker Canyon, Arizona Territory. She grew up on the Bercich, La Osa, and Manistee (Sands) Ranches. She also lived in Tucson, Bisbee, Tombstone, Tempe, Ft. Grant, Bowie, Eloy, Bagdad, Sun City, Peoria and Glendale. She attended ASU in the Class of 1931. She met her future husband while attending ASU's summer session, which was held on the ASC campus in Flagstaff, Ariz. She passed the State Teaching Certificate tests and took her first full-time job teaching 9 grades in a one-room school in Fairbanks, Ariz. Ethel married Norman Albert Wilson on May 15, 1932. Her brother Theodore (Ted) Simpson, her husband, Norman, and her parents preceded Ethel in death. Her daughter, Norma Ann Reinier of Mountain Home, Idaho, her identical twin sons Donald A. Wilson of Thatcher, Ariz., and Dennis A. Wilson of Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, her niece Sylvia Burton of Tucson, Ariz., 6 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren survive Ethel. Ethel was awarded Life Member Status for the Order of the Eastern Star. She served as Matron at both the Bowie Chapter and the Eloy Chapter. Ethel was a member of the Elks Ladies Auxiliary in Wickenburg, Ariz., and her dad, Sid T. Simpson, was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks (B.P.O.E.). Ethel concluded her professional career and retired as business manager for the Bagdad Unified School District in Bagdad, Ariz. Ethel had an inquiring mind and sharp memory until the time she passed on. She learned to use her first computer at age 90 and enjoyed e-mailing family and friends. Ethel, as a teacher, believed in helping children to learn to read and worked very hard to provide good books for public school children. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Ethel Wilson's name to the Bagdad Unified Public School District Library, P.O. Box 427, Bagdad, AZ 86321-0427. Please visit her memorial website at www.MeM.com and sign her guestbook. Cremation by Camino del Sol Funeral Chapel & Cremation Center in Sun City West. Ethel will be inurned at the Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City, Ariz. Information provided by survivors. See Also: Find A Grave |
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