Born and raised in the countryside of Memphis, Harry E. Simpson remained a Southern gentleman even as he lived his adult life in Chicago as an impressive pioneer of the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
“Harry was a tremendous man,” said Frank Connolly, a close friend who met him years ago as a fellow stockbroker. The two often commuted downtown together from their Winnetka homes.
“He came from a very humble background. He was not afraid to take chances and had a series of successes, but in spite of that he was quiet, not boastful and would walk on the [trading] floor and immediately had a presence. Frankly, I admired him. I grew a lot from knowing him and learning you can survive things. He was revered by everyone on the floor.”
Mr. Simpson, 84, a retired options trader, died of congestive heart failure, Wednesday, Aug. 18, in the Winnetka home of his youngest daughter, Kathryn Kirchner.
“If you picture a Southern gentleman, that was my dad,” said his daughter.
Athletic skills Mr. Simpson perfected in high school were rewarded with a basketball scholarship to the University of Mississippi, “Ole Miss,” where he received a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts.
After graduation, Mr. Simpson joined the Navy, volunteering to become part of its bomb disposal unit. During World War II, he and others in the unit cleared unexploded bombs from beaches overseas, such as Guadalcanal.
He was discharged as a lieutenant shortly after he had married Elizabeth Hettler in April 1945 in her hometown of Chicago. The couple had met at one of the Sunday dinners her parents regularly hosted for sailors from the Naval Armory in Chicago, where he was based.
For a short time, he worked at his father-in-law’s lumber company, then decided to try his hand as a stockbroker.
“He was very successful at it,” said Connolly, a retired securities firm executive. “But when the opportunity presented itself to be one of the first persons in the options exchange, he started in that fledgling business. Without Harry and the others, there wouldn’t be an options board.”
The options board exchange began in a room set aside by the Chicago Board of Trade that doubled as its smoking room. Mr. Simpson was in his early 50s.
“He left a successful business client base to go with the options where you are totally on your own,” said Connolly. “Your own skills and instincts have to take you into the business; you only have your inner self to make you successful. Traders on the floor had great respect for Harry’s willingness to start something where the future was uncertain.”
Mr. Simpson retired from the exchange in 1992. His wife died six years later.
He was an excellent golfer,.He shot his age many times when he was in his 70s.
Other survivors include another daughter, Erminnie Pavelski; a sister, Mabel Rutherford; two grandchildren; two nephews; and his caretaker, Genevieve Blanquet.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in Winnetka Congregational Church, 725 Pine St., Winnetka.
