Simpson, Grover

Grover Simpson (1918- 1985) was a game warden for the state of Texas for 34 years, serving primarily in Travis County and the surrounding area. Simpson was born in McKenzie, Tennessee but was sent to an orphanage in Waco, Texas after his father's death in 1930. After attending the North Texas State Teachers' College in Denton, then serving in the National Guard, attending the National School of Business, and a few months at Baylor University studying chemistry, Simpson was accepted into the four-month game warden program at Texas A & M University. Simpson became game warden on June 1, 1948. He was responsible for Travis County and the surrounding counties of Bastrop, Hays and Williamson. He also had secondary responsibility for Blanco, Burnet and Llano counties.

Simpson was an employee of the Game, Fish and Oyster Commission, which was renamed the Game and Fish Commission in 1951, and merged with the State Parks Department in 1968 to become the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. At this time his duties were defined as "enforcing statutes covering all game, fish, pollution, shell and gravel and fur bearing laws of the state" and enforcing such nongame statutes such as the Texas Water Safety Act; prohibiting shooting from the road and trespassing; disseminating information about wildlife and fish conservation; performing game census counts; assisting in the statewide water sampling program; rescuing drowning victims and helping prevent boating and hunting accidents.

His position as a public figure meant that he was often in the news, usually as the arresting officer in cases of poaching, but also in his capacity as an educator for adults and children on the subject of wildlife and fish conservation. Simpson encountered several notable figures of his time, ticketing Lyndon Johnson in 1956 for shooting doves illegally, and citing Charles Whitman in 1963 for unlawful possession of a deer. Simpson also wrote articles for Texas Game and Fish and The Texas Game Warden .

Simpson had health problems throughout his working life, stemming mostly from contracting tuberculosis while in the National Guard and resulting in repeated hospitalizations. He suffered from a serious hemorrhage in 1957 that led to a statewide appeal for blood and resulted in a flood of public sympathy and donations.

He worked closely with area landowners, helping to establish the Hays-Travis County Game Protective Association. Through the development of such relationships, Simpson had many powerful friends to lobby for his continued station within Travis County when his superiors wanted to move him to Johnson County in 1962. Frank McBee, who was a justice of the peace and later a judge, was an ally and good friend. Honors awarded to Simpson include a Simple Resolution 316 passed in the Texas House of Representatives in 1965 for 17 years of service, the Most Worthy Citizen Award for the year 1961, and the Shikar Safari Award in 1976.

Simpson's work entailed risks. He was charged with assault in 1957 for the shooting of a fleeing suspect, although the jury ultimately deadlocked. He also sustained injuries as a result of his work, including a black widow spider bite (1955) and a pellet-gun shot to the face (1957).

Simpson's family included his wife Melba, who passed away in 1971, and two children, David (Bubba) and Sharon. Grover Simpson passed away in 1985 due to illness.

From the guide to the Grover Simpson Papers AR. 2006. 026., 1932-1993, 1948-1985, (Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, )