Letter: In memory of Richard V. Simpson, a town treasure

Posted 7/20/17

Richard V. Simpson died on July 4, 2017 as he prepared to participate in Bristol’s famous Fourth of July Parade. The timing of his death at age 81 was an amazing coincidence, because he wrote …

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Letter: In memory of Richard V. Simpson, a town treasure

Posted

Richard V. Simpson died on July 4, 2017 as he prepared to participate in Bristol’s famous Fourth of July Parade. The timing of his death at age 81 was an amazing coincidence, because he wrote the definitive book on Bristol’s longest-running celebration of American independence.

His July 4 passing creates no national stir as did the simultaneous deaths of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, architects of the Declaration of Independence, on July 4, 1826 — the 50th anniversary of that hallowed document. Unfortunately, Richard’s passing has yet to create a stir in Bristol. As I pen this letter, only his local obituary notice has made the news. Like the “humble rustic” in poet Thomas Gray’s “Elegy in a Country Churchyard,” Simpson’s passing has scarcely “evoked the passing tribute of a sigh.” I hope this brief commentary remedies that neglect.

Richard Simpson, a native of the Edgewood neighborhood of Cranston, graduated from LaSalle Academy in 1954, a year before me. I did not know him as a schoolmate, nor did I meet him until 40 years thereafter when he began his career as a historian. During that span of years, Richard worked for the U.S. Navy in Newport and pursued a successful career as a graphic designer, muralist, and artist. Many of his paintings were exhibited and won prizes.  Just two weeks before his death, he wrote to me for assistance in securing a publisher for his many artistic renditions.

Because I am not an art critic, I cannot comment knowledgeably about the enduring quality of Richard’s paintings. However, as a historian, I can assess his contributions to that field of intellectual endeavor. Richard Simpson was the greatest historian of Bristol, ever. No one equals him in the quantity and quality of his work. In the span of two decades, he published 24 histories — half on East Bay topics and half about his adopted town of Bristol.

Former U.S. House Speaker “Tip” O’Neill was fond of saying that “All politics is local.” If that aphorism can also be applied to history, then the contributions of local teachers, librarians, preservationists, and writers, such as Richard Simpson, are the foundations of our historical knowledge and our sense of place.

A hundred years from now, future generations of Bristolians will know the traditions of their historic town by the words of Richard Simpson and see it through his eyes and the images he preserved. No other Rhode Island town can boast of such a prolific local historian. He is Bristol’s treasure.

Richard Simpson has died with scant notice or fanfare, but his work will long survive him.

Patrick Conley
Bristol

Richard Simpson

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