Clyde W. Simpson (October 13, 1920 – November 14, 1999) was an American politician. He served as a Democratic member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

Life and career

Simpson was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

on 13 October 1920. He would graduate from Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville in 1937. He attended Gordon Military College and the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, graduating in 1943, the University of Florida's Levin College of Law, graduating in 1973, and would receive an honorary degree from

Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Located in the city's Arlington (Jacksonville), Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonvill ...

. Simpson would serve in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, participating in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. He would serve as a

Lieutenant, junior grade Lieutenant junior grade is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both ab ...

, aboard the vessel PT-168 in 1944. Throughout 1946 and 1947, after leaving combat, Simpson would show signs of

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

. He would be hospitalized and treated with electro-shock and

insulin shock Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...

therapies. Simpson continued his service in the Navy Reserves for 25 years, ultimately retiring as a

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Florida legislative members reading a statute book

Simpson would work as a real estate and

mortgage broker A mortgage broker acts as an intermediary who brokers mortgage loans on behalf of individuals or businesses. Traditionally, banks and other lending institutions have sold their own products. As markets for mortgages have become more competitive, ...

, including roles in

life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

and

general insurance General insurance or non-life insurance policy, including automobile and homeowners policies, provide payments depending on the loss from a particular financial event. General insurance is typically defined as any insurance that is not determine ...

building products Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings and other structures, like bridges. Apart from natura ...

sales,

home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...

construction, and

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

. Simpson served extensively with the Jacksonville Jaycees, serving as the State Vice President for District 3 from 1952 to 1953, and was elected as president of the Jacksonville

Junior Chamber of Commerce The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI). ...

in 1954. Simpson served two terms in the

from 1965 to 1966. He then served on the

Jacksonville City Council The Jacksonville City Council is the legislature, legislative governing body of the city of Jacksonville, Florida and of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonville Jacksonville Consolidation, consolidated in 1968. ...

from 1966 to 1969. Simpson died in

Belleair, Florida Belleair is a town in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Tampa Bay area. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 4,273. History ...

due to complications from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

on November 14, 1999, at the age of 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Clyde W. 1920 births 1999 deaths Politicians from Jacksonville, Florida Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Gordon State College alumni University of Florida alumni 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature