Steve Simpson

Reflections on a Redeemed Life

Stephen Michael Simpson was born December 29, 1952 and baptized in Tacloban City, Philippines to Mary Chapman and Robert Martin. Looking for a better life for her family, Mary bravely left her 2 children in her mother’s care and moved to Los Angeles where she played piano in a swanky lounge. James Simpson heard her play and married her in 1958. When Steve stepped off the plane at the age of 5, he met the man he would call Dad the rest of his life. His own adoption would later have a profound impact on his understanding of God and willingness to become a father to his young stepchildren. The new family moved to Whittier, where Steve later graduated from Lowell High School in 1970.
Steve attended the new campus at UC Irvine, but left to learn on his own. In his “hippie days”, he hitchhiked up the coast to Washington state, but ultimately decided it was too rainy, and headed south looking for the Truth. He worked every job imaginable; from trash collector, preschool teacher, hay bucker, roofer to maker of apple wine in Morro Bay. His parents urged him to return to college. At CalState Fullerton, he studied World Religions, interested in Buddhism. Steve used to love arguing the Scriptures with Christians. Challenged by a hippie friend to pray to Jesus to reveal himself, he described his conversion as simply “not believing one moment and believing the next”. At the Vine Church in Brea, Steve met Wendy Peters, a single mother with a baby boy. Married in 1982, Steve joyfully became a father to Eric. Two years later, Hallie was born. Steve became a corrugated box designer. He talked his way into a sales position where he excelled. Single again, Steve took a 6-month hiatus to study theology before starting a new job at Monarch Litho where he sold printing for 29 years. In 6th grade, Hallie came to live with Steve full-time. He loved to debate theology, listen to live bluegrass bands, horseback ride in Colorado, and drive his Mustang convertible up and down PCH.
At Single-Parent Fellowship at EV Free, it was love the moment Steve looked into Julie’s blue eyes. Learning that Julie was a newly single mother of a baby and a toddler didn’t deter him. They were married on Aug 7, 1999 and started their blended family with Eric 18, Hallie 14, Daniel 3, and Angela 23 months. Steve loved talking about the sufficiency of Christ and made sure his children understood Grace and humility. He loved vacations to beautiful places like the beaches of Hawaii, waterfalls up the Pacific coast, Hallie’s graduation in New York, Niagara Falls, dude ranches in Colorado, and the Grand Tetons pictured on the bulletin cover.
His love of spending time in the beautiful outdoors was surpassed the moment Willa Joy Brown was born to Hallie and Robert. The Colorado mountains were a breathtaking backdrop for seeing Willa. He made trips to Texas for Daniel’s graduations and Azusa for Angela’s graduation. Steve’s crowning accomplishment was raising his children to be loved, independent adults. The year of 2017 began a series of health crises which only honed his interest in spending time with his wife and kids. In February of 2023, he was diagnosed with leukemia, but he was overjoyed to dance with Hallie at her wedding in May. An overwhelming infection took him suddenly on June 20, 2023.