Ruby "Lu" Simpson-Fenton

Ruby Louise Simpson-Fenton, or "Lu" to her friends, aged 94, died peacefully on November 3, 2015 at home in her residence at Epworth Villa Retirement Community in Oklahoma City. Lu was born March 7, 1921 in Woodward, Oklahoma, the daughter of Rev. Jerry Cecil Coover and Fern Elva Coover (Demaree). Lu lived on a farm until she was four years old, when her parents consecrated their lives to full time Christian service and her father joined the Oklahoma Methodist Conference. She graduated from Pond Creek High School and received her B.S. from Oklahoma College for Women (OCW), now the University of Science and Art in Oklahoma at Chickasha, Oklahoma. Lu was always a leader in the youth program of her churches, where she also sang solos in the choir and with a girls trio during her high school years. On June 8, 1942 Lu married Thomas Leslie Simpson, who became a USAF navigator and pilot during WWII, and retired as a Colonel in 1970 after 32 years of service. Throughout their career Lu and Tom moved many times, with the Methodist Church as a constant in their daily lives. Wherever they lived, Lu was busy with volunteer work. Some of the many activities in which she participated include: Grey Ladies, Red Cross, new resident integration at air bases where they lived, United Methodist Women (all offices including president for two years), youth sponsor, choir member, superintendent of Vacation Bible School, sponsor and counselor for a deaf mute Hispanic girl in Abilene, TX and a Nigerian medical student in Austin, TX, founded the Moreno Valley High School chapter of the American Field Service and served as first host family for an Italian foreign exchange student, English language adult educator in the Philippines, board member of ASTEC charter school in Oklahoma City, established a scholarship fund at Oklahoma City University, and founded the Coover Lecture Series and endowment fund in memory of her parents at Sunny Lane Methodist Church in Del City, OK, where she served as chairman of the board for 11 years. Lu and Tom's son, Mike Simpson, was born November 29, 1951, and is a partner at WME Entertainment and lives in Manhattan Beach, CA. Their daughter, Mindy Simpson, was born August 11, 1959 and died the next day. After Tom's death on April 8, 1977, Lu moved from their home in Austin, TX to Midwest City, OK, to be near her parents and siblings, where she married Harry Ford July 3, 1983, and together they moved to Epworth Villa in 1993. Harry passed away April 1, 1997, and on August 21, 2002 Lu married Epworth neighbor Elliot Fenton, whose wife LeNoir had earlier passed away. Elliott turns 101 years old this month, and continues to reside at Epworth. Lu and Elliott attended Wesley Church and Church of the Servant in Oklahoma City, where they were members of both choirs, while also singing with the Epworth Villa choir. At Epworth Villa, Lu was elected to Vice President and later President of the Resident Council and Association. Lu was preceded in death by her parents and brothers, Jerry Coover and Jean Coover. In addition to Elliott and Mike, Lu is survived by her sisters Marie Vollmer of Epworth Villa, Ruth McClennan and Lorraine Shultz-Roberts of Oklahoma City, and Martha Inabel Wasserbeck of Palmdale, CA; brother James Coover and his wife LaRue of Tulsa, OK; grandson Thomas Austin Simpson; and many nieces, nephews and other family members. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent in her name to the Oklahoma City University Scholarship Fund - Col Thomas L. and Ruby L. Simpson Endowed Scholarship, Oklahoma City University, Office of University Advancement 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73109.