IN THE PRESS:

Tribute/Eulogy for Mentor/Boss/”Second Father”/Former business partner, Senator Alan K. Simpson (R-Wyoming)

It was the honor of my life to be asked to be a eulogist at the  2025 memorial service, televised at the University of Wyoming,  for a person I considered to be like a second father to me, former Senator Alan K. Simpson. Other eulogists included his family, former Wyoming Governors (Democrats and Republicans), former President Clinton Chief of Staff/Cabinet Member/Co-Chair of the Simpson-Bowles Commission, Erskine Bowles, the current Wyoming Congressional delegation,  long time Simpson family friend, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, and  AOL Founder Steve Case .  Here is a video link to my eulogy and links/quotes about the service.  My remarks start at 1 hour 45 minutes in. See link. They last about 7 minutes.  The tone of the event was bipartisan, civil,  and courteous—just like he would have wanted it. It was a reminder of what a more civil era looked like.  Hope you get a sense of why I loved Senator Simpson so much, and continue to miss him…

Mike Tongour, who spoke on behalf of the hundreds of staffers who worked for the Simpsons, said Simpson “made us feel unique” and “valued our work and our loyalty.”

He detailed Simpson’s genuine interest in the lives of his staff, recalling how he asked after their spouses, children and outside interests. He also recalled how Simpson had a knack for bringing people together and encouraging relationships, “including my own.”

Echoing others, Tongour described Simpson as a “Renaissance man,” one who loved art, literature, sports, his family and other people. When asked for a single word to describe himself, Tongour recalled, Simpson had replied, “Curious.”

“We should remember Al by trying to be a bit more like him,” he continued. “To believe in the inherent goodness of people, have more compassion for the disadvantaged and marginalized, to believe in redemption, giving people a second chance, to lead with warmth, love, humor and take extra time to get to know a person.”  https://www.codyenterprise.com/news/local/article_bef407d3-3abd-43d4-bd03-d1090e91a961.html

Former aide Mike Tongour shared a rare unheard Simpson witticism.

Tongour went on to speculate about all the rich conversations the insatiably curious Simpson will enjoy in heaven — with figures like Mark Twain and Milward Simpson, Norm Mineta and George Bush. 

“God bless you, lovable, curious, hilarious Al,” he concluded. 

My quotes from a Cowboy State Daily panel interview (including Former Wyoming Governor Sullivan, Erskine Bowles, Assistant Secreatry of Interior Rob Wallace, and Pete Williams of NBC News) :  https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/03/21/the-roundup-a-tribute-to-al-simpson/

…..his last full year in the Senate was 30 years ago. I don’t think there’s anybody in the history of the Senate that was still so sought after from media, from other policy makers, than Al Simpson was 30 years after he left the Senate. 

He was a renaissance man. He was a veteran. He was a lover of the arts, music, books, sports. He had a great zest for life. We’ve talked about his big heart, but I’ve got my stories about my mother, and I bet all of you probably can think of stories like this about your mothers as well. Sometimes they always have big hearts, and maybe they don’t know about politics.

But my mother, when I first started working for Al, asked me a question, which I thought was simplistic, but in reality, it was the essence. It was everything. She says, ‘Is he a good man?’ And I said, you know, somewhat dismissively, you know, ‘Yes, of course, he’s a good man.’ 

But the point is, is that after 35 years of getting to know him, what I probably should have said to my mother is, ‘He’s the very best.’

One of the things – I’m just remembering so much in these last few days – and it didn’t matter, you know, if you were at their dinner table and you were a guest. That was a family tradition, and I know you didn’t, you didn’t ask me here to sing, but everyone would hold hands, and they would sing this old song. And it was like, ‘The more we get together, the happier we’ll be, because your friends are my friends.’ 

And you know it sounded, the first time you heard it, ‘Oh my gosh. What am I getting myself into?’ But you know, the truth is, it tells you everything you need to know about Al Simpson, because basically, I mean, he had a lot of love in his heart, but huge his family has the same DNA, and they’re very warm people. 

And I remember even when my kids, who you know, they were just there, and they didn’t know this famous person very well, but they would say, now, what did you do this summer? And what do you want to do next in your schooling, and things like that. They would take the time to ask these kind of questions and go around the table anyway. 

It was just, it was just the kind of warmth that was manifested, not only at his dinner table but also in the Senate.