Grace Marie Simpson

Grace Marie Simpson passed peacefully from time to eternity on September 7, 2017, at age 98 in Poulsbo, WA.  Marie was born to Arthur Clay Cowsert and Emma May Long Cowsert on November 9, 1918 on a farm near Braymer, Missouri.  She was preceded in death by her husband of 30 years, Harlie Lee Simpson, and brothers Arthur Clay Cowsert, Jr. and Louis Long Cowsert.  Marie and Harlie were married in the house in which she was born, on April 17, 1942.  She is survived by her two sons and daughters-in-law, Bruce and Voedean of Huntington Beach, CA, and David and Margaret of Kingston, WA; grandchildren Erin Salter, Megan Chappelle, Zachary Simpson, Nathan Simpson, Catherine Jorgensen, and Laura Bonett; and twelve great grandchildren.

Marie attended Warrensburg Teachers College and taught at a one-room country school until she was married.  Marie and her family farmed and lived in rural areas until moving from Missouri to Moses Lake, Washington in 1959.  She worked as a bookkeeper in a drug store there.  When Marie and Harlie moved to Seattle in 1967 she began working for McKesson Drug Company as a bookkeeper.  She retired from McKesson in 1983, and made her full-time interest doing things for her family, often flying across the country to help with new grandchildren or to attend family special events.  She was famous for her skills at sewing.  Her cookie drawer was within reach of two generations of little hands and it was always stocked with treats.

She was a member of Seaview United Methodist Church and liked helping at the annual rummage sale.  She took pride in her house and outdoor plants.  In 2014 Marie moved from her house in West Seattle to assisted living in Poulsbo, where her son and daughter-in-law lived nearby.

Her kindness, wisdom, inner strength, gentle encouragement, quiet demeanor, and unconditional love will be deeply missed.