Government » Enid Walk of Fame » 1991-2000
KP was born August 30, 1917 in Enid to Dick and Estelle Barkyoumb Simpson and passed away Monday, January 17, 2000, in St. Mary’s Mercy Hospital after a brief illness.
He was raised in Enid and graduated from Enid High School in 1935. He married Dorothy J. Jondrow on June 6, 1942 in Enid and she passed away July 25, 1995. He entered the Army/Air Corps in 1942 and was assigned to the Provost Marshall Office. After the war, he started selling Army Surplus out of a jeep with his partner and longtime friend Bob Parrish. He started the Simpson Mercantile, which is still the largest independently owned store in the state.
In 1965, he founded the Enid Baseball Camp with his friend Dusty Eby. He founded the SOS Oil Co. KP served on the Enid City Council from 1976-1980; he and Bill Munn restarted the Cherokee Strip Celebration in 1983. In 1992, he was awarded the Pioneer Strip Award. KP started the Skeleton Creek Production Co. in 1996. In 1997, his was the first induction into the Enid Walk of Fame. KP founded the Garfield Co Crime Stoppers. KP was awarded the Enid Citizen of the Year in 1998.
KP acted and wrote in several episodes of “Unsolved Mysteries.” In his acting career, he acted with well-known actors such as Randy Quaid, Larry Hagman, and old friend Ben Johnson. He was noted for the famous Simpson Commercials. He raised bloodhounds for the Kansas State Penitentiary. KP was one of the first in Oklahoma to raise appaloosa horses. He also raised quarter horses.
