BARBARA A. SIMPSON

Barbara A. Simpson, a good and faithful servant of the Lord, entered into Heaven on Thursday, September 16, 2021 in Chula Vista, CA. 

She was born on October 30, 1944 in Goldsboro, NC to Frank and Louvenia Reid Richardson.  As the second of 8 children, she was lovingly called Barbara Ann by her siblings and closest family members.  Kind in spirit and nature, she was grounded in her faith in God.  She started every morning with prayer and reading the Bible, a personal routine that she modeled all her life.  Upon graduating from Dillard High School in 1963, she moved to Brooklyn, NY, where her eldest sister Patrinella Reid lived.  There she worked as a telephone operator for one year to save money for college.  At the urging of her mother, she returned home and attended North Carolina A&T University where she completed a B.S. degree in Nursing in 1968, becoming the first college graduate of her family and fulfilling her lifetime dream of becoming a registered nurse.   At North Carolina A&T, she formed lifelong friendships with her nursing school classmates, Edith Carver Millsaps, Nancy Waddell Best, Ethel Christmas Logan, Ella Hallowell Jackson and the late Linda Bass. In a few short years after graduation, she became the head nurse in the Medical & Surgical Unit Floor at Moses H. Cone Hospital and soon after met the love of her life, Jerome Ranson Simpson.  On August 18, 1973 they married in Greensboro, NC and made their home in Fort Knox, Kentucky. At the encouragement of her husband, she joined the Army Reserves in 1975 in Louisville, KY.  She participated in Operation Desert Shield/ Storm and later retired as a lieutenant colonel after 20 years of faithful service.  True to her nature, she established a church home at First Baptist Church in Elizabethtown, KY and took on a lead role as Sunday school teacher.   In 1976, she gave birth to her first child, Angela C. Simpson and this seemed to change her focus. Taking a break from nursing, she joined her husband and brother-in-law James Simpson in starting SimpRich, a black and family-owned General Construction Company where she served for a period as the secretary and treasurer.      

In 1985, she and Jerome relocated to Nashville, Tennessee where she resumed her nursing career with the Metro Nashville Health Department’s Healthy Start program.  Healthy Start was a home visiting program for first time mothers and their babies that she said was the most fulfilling work that she had done in all her years of nursing. She finished her nursing career with this program and retired after 15 years of service. In 1987, she and Jerome welcomed their second child, Jerome Simpson II.  She and her growing family felt blessed to find their church home the following year at the St. James Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee.  St. James equally expressed gratitude and love for the quiet, strong, consistent, reliable, and effective leadership of Sister Barbara.  A servant leader, she became president of the General Missionary Department and served in that capacity for a number of years.  She made history by serving as first captain of the church’s Security Team, employing all of the God-given gifts and talents to serve the body of Christ, the lost, the least, and the last.In late 2010, undaunted by the long journey in front of her, she arrived in Stuttgart, Germany and welcomed her first grandchild, Miles.   Thereafter, she was blessed with two additional grandchildren, Morgan and Mia and was affectionately known to all three of her grandchildren as “grandma.”  She consistently attended school performances, Grandparent’s Day and looked forward to her grandchildren’s Sunday afternoon visits at the Veterans Home of Chula Vista where she resided.     The Veterans Home of Chula Vista was her last church home where she regularly attended services and bible study.  It was here that she lived out her remaining days in the loving companionship of her devoted husband, Jerome, who remained steadfastly committed to her care and comfort.  

Of all her accomplishments, she was known most for her humility.  Her identity rested in being a loving wife for 48 years, a devoted mother and grandmother, always filled with gratitude and lending a helping hand to those she met in need.   She was a true testament in her faith to God, love of family, and       deep sense of service to others and she instilled those values in her children.    To continue her legacy, Barbara is survived by her dedicated husband, Jerome Ranson Simpson; her children: Angela Simpson Miller (Odell) of San Diego, CA, Jerome Ranson Simpson II of Philadelphia, PA, her three grandchildren, her siblings Patrinella Reid of Wilson, NC , Mable Richardson-Stubbs (Kelvin) of Cary, NC, Victor Glenn Richardson of Elizabethtown, KY, and Donnie Richardson of Goldsboro, NC. She is also survived by nieces, nephews, and a host of relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents and three siblings: Frank Richardson Jr., Priscilla Black, and Milton Richardson. Visitation on Monday, Oct. 4th at Anderson-Ragsdale Mortuary from 5pm-7pm. Pre-Service viewingTuesday- Oct. 5th from 11am until the 12 Noon funeral hour. Interment to follow at Miramar National Cemetery. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Bayview Baptist Church. 

Bayview Baptist Church

6126 Pastor Timothy J Winters St

San Diego, CA 92114

bayviewbc.org

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