Allen Simpson

Allen Simpson, age 84, of Bloomingdale, formerly of Wayne, passed Wednesday, August 18, 2021.

Allen was born in 1937 to Raymond A. and Helen E. Simpson in Jersey City. Living in the Vauxhall section of Newark until moving to Wayne. The roads in Wayne at the time he moved there were mostly dirt!  He walked up to Route 202, where all the mailboxes were for the Riverview community, and that is where he waited for the school bus.  

His father was a Captain in the Army during WWII, when the family was moved to Richland, Washington, where he lived for 2 years. At this time they lived near the Hanford Site, which, in 1943, was used to produce Plutonium for the Atomic bomb that helped bring an end to WWII. He lived near the Columbia River, where nuclear reactors lined the river bank, and Allen would walk the hills along the river and recounted how they were filled with wild asparagus.

He moved back to Wayne when he was 8 years old and lived in the Riverview Community. He spent much of his free time looking for frogs, salamanders, turtles, etc., in the local brooks and rivers.  He swam in the Pompton River several times a day.  He was always devoted 200% to his hobbies: chemistry, chess, and short wave radio (Ham). His call sign was N2NN. He attended Fairleigh Dickinson University but then joined the Navy.   He was in Communications and one of the best in the world at receiving Morse code. While in the Navy he served in French Morocco among many other stations. After the Navy he worked in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and other Middle Eastern Countries working in communications with General Instrument, Kearfott, and several other companies.  

Later in life his hobbies turned to model trains, then photographing trains, which then led him to photography.  Nature became his obsession! Until his death, he spent his time photographing mushrooms, flowers, wildlife, etc.!!! In the Mycology Society he won many awards in Frelinghuysen arboretum. He developed his own photos, printed them and later professionally framed them. He entered many photography contests and received accolades from most. His equipment was highly professional! He took pleasure in giving away 4x6s of his work to clerks at stores, banks, etc.!!!

At Portobello’s restaurant in Oakland, he always gave a 100 % tip or more! During his last years he gave generously to many charities of which he would receive 25 requests daily! His last and most recent pleasure was feeding sunflower kernels to the groundhog, chipmunks squirrels, etc., of which many he could pet. He called his sister, “Snoops” and she called him, “Lallen”, up until he passed.

Allen is predeceased by his wife, Claire Elise (nee Bollinger), who died in 2019. Claire was the love of his life and they enjoyed thirty eight years of a very loving and devoted marriage. Allen is survived by his sister, Jane Van Eeuwen of Wayne, nephew William Van Eeuwen of Wayne, and his dear cousins; Stephanie, Heather, and Adrian.