ClassMate Bio

Sharon (Evans) Simpson, '60

 

Published: June, 2002

 

 

Four generations: My youngest daughter Beth, me holding my youngest granddaughter Sarah, and my mother.

 

It seems like only a short while since we walked down the aisle of the auditorium to say our good byes to THS - the older I get the faster the years fly by.

 

As many of you may recall, I ended my Senior Year with a diamond on my ring finger and in September of that year I married Bill Simpson in Bethel Methodist Church in Tottenville.

 

We settled in New Haven, Connecticut where Bill was an engineer working for Olin Corporation.  Since there was a significant age difference between us, we opted to start a family fairly quickly and a year and a half later our daughter Barbara was born.  Her sister, Elizabeth, followed her 3 years later and then in 4 years our son Ted joined the family.

Me, Bill and Betty Evans, my brother's wife.

 

I consider myself very fortunate that I was able to be a stay-at-home mom for the next 10 years and have to say that I think I grew up with my kids.  We had moved into a house in one of the New Haven suburbs when Beth was born and between the house, garden and church volunteer work, my days were filled.  About the time Ted started first grade, I decided that it was time to think about college and spent that year going to one of the local colleges full time, planning to major in Biochemistry (it seemed like a good idea at the time).  However, I soon realized that even with the children in school all day, the demanding course schedule and required labs took too much of my attention away from the more important responsibilities of parenting.  It seemed like Ted, my baby, only got sick on the days when I had a critical Chem. exam scheduled (and that instructor had said no make-ups).  Bill had progressed to Plant Manager and was in the process of building a new facility so his job was becoming more demanding.  I decided that school would always be there but the children wouldn’t.

 

My son Ted and his dog Nicky.

We were such a model family back then, and sometimes I think that if I could have suspended Time, that is where I would have it stop.  There was time for us to sit outdoors on a sunny June afternoon and pick out cloud pictures in the blue sky, a memory I treasure as I watch Beth struggle with a demanding full time job and 2 children which leaves almost no time for smelling the roses.   When the girls were in high school and Ted in 8th grade, I decided that it was time to revisit the college scene and this time opted for a B.S. in Accounting.

 

In 1981 I began what would take me 7 years to finish.  During that time I initially worked part-time as an office manager at a local company and then full time as a Corporate Jr. Accountant for a Fortune 500 company a short commute away.  Meanwhile our oldest, Barbara, graduated from The University of Connecticut with a degree in Journalism, and Beth attended Temple University in Philadelphia as a National Merit Scholar.

 

Beth’s story has a twist:  She was a Music major until the middle of her junior year and then switched to Electrical Engineering, where she graduated at the top of her class in 1988, the year I finally got my degree.  She then went on to RPI for a Master’s at the same time Ted was earning a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the same school.

 

I passed the CPA exam in 1991 and since then have worked as an internal auditor for Fleet Bank; (based in Hartford but traveling throughout New England) and in September of 1998 I joined United Technologies also in Hartford. I am the Relationship Officer for the PricewaterhouseCoopers audits for our Defined Benefit Plans, in addition to being the Benefits Accountant for the Corporate HR Benefits group. I like the job because I feel it gives me a chance to contribute more to the well being of UTC’s employees than the financial accounting I was doing before.  The only downside to this job is the daily 2-hour round trip commute.

 

Barbara and Beth are both married and Beth has 2 daughters, Rachel who is 6 ½ and Sarah, who is 2 ½.  It was fortunate that Bill was able to see them both but very sad that he passed away a year ago in May of 2000.  He was 69.  He was initially diagnosed in 1998 with colon cancer but it turned out to be cancer of the appendix, one of the rarest forms of cancer there is.  What can I say about the end of a wonderful relationship - we would have celebrated our 40th anniversary in September of 2000.

 

So I am still in the house we bought in the Connecticut shoreline town of Madison when Ted was a year old, all by myself except for my furry children:  Daisy, a lovely and sweet Blue Merle rough collie, and 2 Persian cats—a cream, Simon and a cameo, Obadiah.  Can you tell I have a thing for long, thick furry coats?  The children were a great help during the last year and a half - Barb lives in Rhode Island, Ted about 45 minutes away in Connecticut, and Beth still close to the Philly area.

 

My eldest, Barbara, on her wedding day.

 

While I have a wonderfully supportive church, the only other family I have are in the Atlanta area:  My mother, brother and sister.  So at times it seems very lonely up here.  I spent a week in October visiting my brother and his wife, and they keep pointing out houses for sale in their neighborhood.  I am definitely considering that possibility for retirement and who knows?  If things change on the job scene before then, maybe sooner.   In the meantime I take one day at a time and look forward each month to this great publication.  Hats off to Werner et all!!!

 

If you would like to send any comments to Sharon, please click here: Sharon Simpson