Kimball T. Simpson

Kimball T. Simpson, 78, husband of Kate Donaghue and father of Josselyn Simpson and Brian Simpson, died peacefully at home on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, surrounded by family. He is the son of the late Edwina Simpson and Wendell K. Simpson. Kim was born in Springfield, raised in West Springfield, and lived for the past 47 years in Westborough.

Kim was an avid hiker who hiked the Long Trail end-to-end and side-to-side, and was proud to have hiked a significant portion of the Appalachian Trail. He had leadership roles in national and regional hiking organizations: president of the Green Mountain Club in Vermont; treasurer of the American Hiking Society; and chairman of the Midstate Trail Committee. He was also an active volunteer in trail maintenance and was the maintainer of the Walkup and Robinson Memorial Reservation trail in Westborough for many years. Kim chaired the biennial meeting of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in 2009.

Professionally, Kim was an environmental engineer. He held degrees from Lehigh University and the University of Massachusetts. Kim worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for most of his career with a focus on water pollution control.

Kim actively supported environmental and charitable causes, most notably the Green Mountain Club, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, the Sudbury Valley Trustees, and Futures for Children. He was an avid train traveler, and liked reading murder mysteries and books about history.

Kim is survived by his wife and daughter; his son died in 2018. He is also survived by four sisters, Edwina Allen of Boise, Idaho, Karen Simpson of West Springfield, Massachusetts, Ellen Simpson of San Francisco, and Martha Simpson of Boothbay Harbor, Maine; mother-in-law Margaret Donaghue of Quincy, Massachusetts; and numerous siblings-in-law, nieces, and nephews.

Calling hours will be held at Pickering & Son Westborough Funeral Home, 62 W. Main St., Westborough, on Sunday, December 19, 1-5 PM; masks are required. The funeral will be private.

Donations in Kim’s memory can be made to the Green Mountain Club, greenmountainclub.org, 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury Center, VT, 05677.