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Al Simpson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House on July 7, 2022.

It’s the highest civilian award of the United States and has been awarded to an average of fewer than 11 recipients annually since it was established in 1963.

“Al exemplifies our national ideals of responsible governance, civil discourse and public service,” President Joe Biden said in making the award. “He was one of the most decent, stand-up, genuine guys I’ve ever served with. At his core, Al always believed in the common good and what’s best for the nation.”

Three other major awards came Simpson’s way in July, August and September 2024.

On July 27, 2024, the Mineta-Simpson Institute was dedicated at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center near Cody. The 7,300-square-foot facility is designed to foster empathy, courage and cooperation in the next generation of leaders. Simpson and Norm Mineta met and became friends at Boy Scout meetings at the Heart Mountain Internment Center during World War II. As fate would have it, they later served together in Congress, Mineta in his role as congressman from California and Secretary of Transportation for two presidents.

A month later, on Aug. 22, 2024, Simpson and his wife, Ann, were feted in Laramie when the ribbon was cut on the newly named University of Wyoming College of Law Alan K. Simpson Center for Clinical and Experiential Learning. The Simpson Center at the law school houses a number of departments as well as offices for human rights and environmental law. Simpson was a 1958 graduate of the UW College of Law. 

And on Sept. 26, 2024, the couple was honored by the Ucross Foundation near Buffalo with the Raymond Plank Award for Visionary Leadership. Ucross President William Belcher said the Simpsons “have demonstrated a history of leadership,” citing Al’s service in the Wyoming House and U.S. Senate and Ann’s long advocacy for the arts and mental health.

But the “award” the Simpsons were most proud of came in June 2024 when they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with an Ice Cream Social in Cody City Park.

“We always worked as a team,” Ann said at the time.

Daughter Sue Simpson Gallagher quoted her parents’ take on marriage: “Every day is a decision and a recommitment to the relationship.”

“I really believe that kind of pragmatism is what allowed them to keep their romance alive for 70 years,” Simpson Gallagher told the Cody Enterprise. “They presented as one to the public and in private.”

Bruce McCormack has been involved in Wyoming journalism for nearly 50 years, including 30 years as editor and publisher of the Cody Enterprise.

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  3. Fresh out of UW in 1957, I was fortunate enough to report on Gov. Millard Simpson for the Tribune-Eagle. Al Simpson had a great example in the partnership of his parents.Bruce Moats has done a great job of helping us understand more about the core of Al Simpson’s character.

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  4. Great man of Wyoming, a true westerner. What I remember about Senator Simpson, the one time I had a conversation with him, was his curiosity and engagement. I was just a college student and he made me feel listened to.

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    1. That was his superpower– to be present and genuinely interested, whether talking to a queen or talking to a clerk.

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