James E. Simpson

James E. Simpson, 90, of Washington, Pennsylvania, passed away on Sunday evening, July 28, 2024. He was born January 1, 1934, in Cincinnati, Ohio, a son of the late Emmett E. and Sydney Dilworth Simpson. Jim was preceded in death by his twin brother, Joseph, who died the day after birth. Surviving are a sister, Janet Dingman of Virginia Beach, Virginia; a brother, David Simpson (wife Roberta) of Washington, Pennsylvania; a niece, Pamela Onest (husband Trevor) of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania; a nephew, James “JD” Simpson (wife April) of Hurricane, West Virginia; and three great-nieces and a great-nephew, Aidan Onest, Bridget Onest, Nina Onest and Keileigh Simpson. He was a 1951 graduate of Muhlenberg Township High School in Laureldale, Pennsylvania. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Penn State University in 1955. He worked for RCA in Cherry Hills, New Jersey, for a couple of years before he attended graduate school in electrical engineering at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. He was granted a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering in 1960 and continued at Stanford, until he received his PhD in electrical engineering, microwave technology, in 1966. During his career, he worked in research for RCA, Raytheon, Amana Appliances and Fusion Systems, and finally, Fusion Lighting. He worked in several different areas including weapons research, microwave communication, domestic and commercial microwave ovens and large scale lighting systems. In this work, Jim authored several technical papers and was awarded several patents in these varying fields. He held multiple patents in the area of domestic and commercial microwave oven safety. Jim was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, Signal Corps, retiring as a 1st lieutenant. Among his non-professional activities he enjoyed bowling, collecting and playing large format recordings of big bands and numerous vocal and instrumental artists, attending country and western concerts, and traveling. He often told fellow bowlers the differences in the game between geographic regions. He had bowled candlepins in New England, duck pins in New Jersey and Maryland, and ten pins in Iowa and Pennsylvania (each with different types of pins an different types of balls). A viewing will be held from 1 to 2 p.m., the time of service, Saturday, August 3, 2024, in William G. Neal Funeral Homes, Ltd., 925 Allison Avenue, Washington, with the Rev. Dr. Laura Saffell of Liberty Chapel Global Methodist Church officiating. Burial will be held at a later date in Memorial Shrine Cemetery, Carverton, Pennsylvania. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, Amedisys Home Health of Washington, or Presbyterian Senior Care Network Foundation.