Our Crimson 50 series honors Cougs who have been making gifts to Washington State University for 50 years. Their enduring generosity has created lasting opportunities for students, faculty, and communities across Washington and beyond. Each Crimson 50 profile shares their journey—from first gift to most recent—and their reflections on philanthropy, WSU, and the indomitable Cougar spirit.
Jack’s Story
Some Cougs find their way to WSU. Jack Simpson ’62 was born into it.
Jack grew up in Pullman, the son of two people woven into the university. His father, Claude Simpson, attended WSU on a baseball scholarship and became its first director of admissions in 1946. His mother, Catherine Simpson, principal of Edison School, was something of a pioneer, earning her master’s from WSU. Campus was Jack’s classroom and playground—his mother took the children to Vespers in Bryant Hall to hear the tracker organ, and his father taught him to splice educational films when he was just seven.
Jack’s path to graduation wasn’t typical: he left after a semester to work for Boeing, skiing by day and working second shift by night, before returning to finish. During his junior year, he met and married Mary Jett ’60, her high school’s valedictorian, who attended WSU on a scholarship. Jack trained as a pilot in ROTC, earned his history degree in 1962, and later served as a reserve officer in Korea during the Vietnam War. The couple’s daughter Julie Simpson ‘94 would follow in her parents’ footsteps, graduating from WSU with a degree in environmental science.
He went on to earn a master’s and a doctorate from the University of Washington and spent years in education, eventually joining the faculty at the University of Wisconsin alongside his wife, Mary. When Jack didn’t receive tenure, he turned that initial disappointment into a thriving second career in finance with Raymond James & Associates, where he still advises today.
His road back to WSU began when Stan Bates pulled him into fundraising for Cougar Athletics. “Jack, if you give me a donation, I’ll get you tickets to Spokane,” Bates told him. For a diehard Coug fan like Jack, that was all it took. After his sister, Peggy Yates ’61, died in 1986, Jack drew on his expertise to help the WSU Foundation cut transaction costs—every dollar saved stretching further for students, faculty, research, and athletics.
Interviewed on his 89th birthday, Jack remains devoted to the Cougs—and has included the university in his estate plan, ensuring his support continues well beyond his lifetime.
First Gift: $5 in 1963
Five Questions
“My work with the foundation got me interested in giving directly—that and following the Cougs religiously. Growing up in Pullman, my mother and father were always there on B Street. WSU has just always been part of my life.”
“Growing up in Pullman, I was exposed to campus early. My mom would take us to Vespers in Bryant Hall with the tracker organ. Those kinds of experiences stayed with me.”
“We both want to help others. That’s what it comes down to.”
“That it survives. Universities are very important for the next generation. My family was dirt poor, and WSU offered us opportunities we wouldn’t have otherwise had.”
“First-generation scholarships and education. My mother liked to say, ‘You educate a woman, and you educate the society, you educate a man, and you have a man educated’.”