Al K. Simpson

Al K. Simpson, 85, of Fargo, ND, passed away Sunday, January 21, 2007, at SCCI Hospital, under the care of Hospice of the Red River Valley. Al was born April 3, 1921, to William and Luella (King) Simpson in Frazee, MN. He grew up on a farm in Steele County, ND, and attended high school in Sharon, ND, graduating in 1938. He graduated from the Commerce School of the University of North Dakota in 1942, where he was a member of the football team and an All-Conference end in 1941. On May 4, 1944, Al and Annamae Linwell were united in marriage in Panama City, Florida. After 46 years of marriage, Annamae died in 1990. He was in the military service, after graduation in the spring of 1942, and spent five years in the Air Corp as a fighter pilot and was separated with the rank of Captain. Several months after returning to Grand Forks, ND, from Germany, Al joined the work force of Red River National Bank, Grand Forks, ND. In 1957, he became vice president of Merchants National Bank of Fargo and then president of the bank, which later became First Bank of North Dakota, Fargo. Since becoming Merchant’s president, Simpson had been president of Fargo Chamber of Commerce, North Dakota Bankers Association. He had been treasurer and director of North Dakota School of Religion, treasurer of Greater North Dakota Association (the state’s chamber of commerce), trustee of Fargo Elks Lodge 260, and was past district deputy grand exalted ruler of the Elks on a national basis. He was on the board of directors of Northern Sates Power, Western States Life Insurance Co., Union Storage and Transfer Co. and was president of the Dakota Medical Foundation for ten years. In 1966, he was named Boss of the Year by the Fargo Junior Chamber of Commerce. On September 15, 1977, Al became chairman of the board and chief executive officer of First Bank of Wisconsin which has two Divisions – Midland of Milwaukee and the National Bank of Wisconsin in LaCrosse. In 1983, he moved to First Bank System of Minneapolis, where he retired and moved back to Fargo, ND, in 1985. He attended First Presbyterian Church of Fargo where he was an ordained elder. During retirement, Al has enjoyed spending summers at his home on Pelican Lake in Minnesota and some winters in Scottsdale, AZ. He is survived by three daughters, Luanne Lee, Moorhead, MN; Linda Simpson, Palm Bay, Fl; and Laura Loveland, Cocoa, FL; his fiancé, Lois Ivers, Fargo, ND; four granddaughters; two great-grandsons, and one great-granddaughter. Memorials preferred to First Presbyterian Church, Fargo, ND, or Hospice of the Red River Valley. Funeral: Thursday, January 25, 2007 at 2:00 PM at First Presbyterian Church, Fargo, ND. Visitation: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 from 5 – 7 PM at Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home, Fargo. Burial: Riverside Cemetery, Fargo, ND.