Joseph Simpler's Obituary
Joseph Raymond Simpler, age 87, of Rehoboth Beach, DE died Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006 at Beebe Medical Center, Lewes.
Raymond was an outdoorsman, a history buff and a champion golfer, who took up the sport at age 9 when he started as a caddy at the Rehoboth Beach Country Club.
Then located in downtown Rehoboth, the back door of Mr. Simpler's family's Christian Street home looked out on the golf course, where the second tee sat about 200 feet away. He caddied until he was 19 years old and later became a member of the club.
He authored a history of the Rehoboth Beach Country Club for its 75th anniversary. The article was published in the Cape Gazette in August 2000 and recalls many of Mr. Simpler's memories. His best score on the club's original course was in the 1930s when he scored a 67, accomplished in part by six consecutive birdies. His best on the current golf course was a 71, played in 1965.
He competed regularly in the Delaware Amateur Open golf tournament. He won club championship matches in 1954 and 1955.
Believing that golf was a walking sport, especially during tournaments, he never rode in a golf cart in 28 years of tournament play, except for a benefit for Lewes Meals on Wheels.
In the anniversary article, Mr. Simpler wrote that as he got older, he stopped keeping score. "At age 80, I look on my golf as a way of making a walk more interesting."
A Rehoboth native, he graduated from Rehoboth High School in 1938 and attended the University of Delaware.
He served in the Army Signal Corps in World War II and was stationed at Hickam Field, Hawaii, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
A self-employed building contractor, Mr. Simpler took great pride in his work. He retired in 2000 at the age of 80.
He was the Rehoboth Beach Country Club's longest active member. Mr. Simpler also was a member of the Peninsula Golf Association, Epworth United Methodist Church in Rehoboth and the Rehoboth Historical Society.
Survivors include his loving wife of 48 years, Irene K. Simpler; three nieces, Shirley Dawson of Lewes, Donna Miller of Wilmington, and Barbara Kay Alexander of Petaluma, Calif.; two nephews, Michael DeLoy, of Milton, and George William Maloney, of Alamo, Calif., and several great-nieces and nephews.
A Memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 29, at All Saints' Episcopal Church, 8 Olive Avenue, Rehoboth Beach,DE. A reception will follow at the church.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be sent to Delaware State Golf Association Scholarship Fund, 240 West Side Dr., Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971. Arrangements by Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, Lewes, DE .
On-line condolences to : [email protected]
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