Elmer Simpson (1920-1980)

Biography

Elmer Henry Simpson was born on January 14, 1920, in Salem, Oregon. During World War II, he served as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After receiving an honorable discharge in 1945, Simpson started his own logging business while also maintaining a farming and cattle operation. In 1953, he began a civilian career with the federal government and became a first aid attendant for the Maritime Administration in Astoria, Oregon. After he left the Maritime Administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) hired Simpson in 1960 as a maintenance worker at Desert National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada. During his 20 years of service, Simpson remained a dedicated and dependable Service employee. In addition to operating heavy equipment, he provided logistical support to biologists conductingearly desert bighorn sheep research. He also assisted with every phase of desert bighorn sheep management, from conducting waterhole composition counts to erecting water catchments.

Cause of Death

On August 26, 1980, four Service members assisted Frontier Radio Inc. with the installation of a new tower and antenna at the Hayford Peak repeater station, an automated radio station that extends the range of communications. Silver State Helicopters, a private helicopter company, airlifted Simpson, along with Refuge Manager Bob Yoder, Wildlife Biologist Bruce Zeller, and Special Agent Earl Kisler, to Hayford Peak with the required materials. At approximately 1:00 p.m., Simpson and the other Service members boarded the helicopter for the flight back to where they had parked their trucks near a trail. However, the helicopter lost power during takeoff. It dropped, struck the southern slope of Hayford Peak, rolled over, and skidded downhill almost 75 yards. Yoder, Zeller, and Kisler survived, but the impact threw Simpson from the aircraft. Despite the efforts of emergency medical technicians from Valley Hospital Medical Center, Simpson died from his injuries.

Sources:

“Annual Narrative Report Calendar Year 1980.” Desert National Wildlife Refuge, 1980.

“Elmer Henry Simpson.” Find A Grave

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Museum and Archives files with content contributed by Special Agent Earl Kisler, friends, and colleagues in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.