Army Sgt. Mark A. Simpson

Died September 26, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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40, of Peoria, Ill.; assigned to 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas; died Sept. 26 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his military vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Spc. Donald S. Morrison.

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‘Pappy’ loved his Patriots

The Associated Press

Mark Simpson was the youngest in his family but could go toe-to-toe with his four siblings, whether they were exchanging pranks or debating professional football teams and his beloved New England Patriots.

“We would razz each other over who would win, and when the Patriots did win, oh, he’d rub it in really good,” his sister Carol Goewey told the Peoria Journal-Star in Illinois.

The 40-year-old Star Trek fan from Peoria, Ill., graduated from Richwoods High School in 1988, and later worked in several states.

Simpson did construction and worked as a bailiff in Colorado and had been in law enforcement in Texas before joining the military in 2004 to support his family and see the world, the newspaper reported.

“He was going to do this until he could retire or they kicked him out,” his sister said. “He knew he needed to do this.”

Simpson, known by comrades as “Pappy,” died in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Sept. 26, a day after his vehicle was hit with an explosive. He was assigned to Fort Hood and had served in Iraq.

He and his wife, Aletha, have three daughters. He’s also survived by his parents, George and Carol.

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