Roger Simpson

1933 - 2021

Roger Simpson

Roger Simpson, 87, left this earth for his heavenly home on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.

Roger was born on December 28, 1933, in Bedfordshire, England, to Ken and Alice Simpson. He was the baby of the family, arriving after siblings Denis, Jeane, Patricia, and Anne. Two of his sisters were "War Brides" who married American soldiers and after they emigrated to the United States, Roger followed in the mid-1950s. As a young man, he enlisted in the United States Army and proudly served for three years with the 11th Airborne Division reaching rank of Sergeant 1st Class and then served for two years in the Army Reserves while living in Tecumseh, Michigan.

It was there in Tecumseh that he met the love of his life, Carol Finnegan, who he later married. Roger decided to attend barber college and after graduating and becoming a barber, he and Carol began their own family having four beautiful children of their own and finally settling in small town Whitehouse, Ohio.

His barber shop was in Toledo and although he was very well known in Toledo due to his trade, he made his mark in Whitehouse by bringing soccer to Northwest Ohio. In 1972 with his family and friends, he started the Whitehouse Soccer Program with 17 boys. This was the very first of its kind in the area and it became a model of how a soccer program should be run. Roger and Carol were wholly dedicated to this endeavor, including their children in every aspect of it. Roger was the past president of the Toledo Men's Soccer League, served as player manager for several league teams and served as a high school and college soccer official. His name was synonymous with soccer in NW Ohio.

Roger was a member of the Masonic Order for 62 years, he was a member of the American Legion and he was a barber for over 50 years in Toledo. He only retired seven years ago at the age of 80 due to health reasons but he dearly loved his job and all his customers. He never turned a customer away and he forged wonderful friendships with many of his customers over the years.

Roger was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings, and his wife. He is survived by his children, Ken (Lynn), Brian (Julie), Matt (Rhonda) and Heather (Keith); his grandchildren, Ken, Jr. (Casey), Alex (Melissa), Andrew (Rani), Adam (Ali), Olivia, Austin, Graceyn, Roxanne; and ten great-grandchildren.

The family will receive guests at Peinert-Dunn Funeral Home, 7220 Dutch Road, Waterville, Ohio, on Monday, May 24th, from 3-8 p.m. with a special service at 7:30 p.m. by the Masonic Order. The funeral service will be on Tuesday, May 25th, at Peinert-Dunn beginning at 11 a.m.