Bennie Simpson lived in a lean-too that looked like a children's clubhouse, had been homeless since he was 9 and didn't clock in at a steady job. He died alone in an Antrim Township field and his body wasn't found for several days.
To people who knew him and more important, to himself, he was a happy, well-liked man. In a sense, he was a rich man, with three "homes" to himself, a bicycle and a small subsidy that allowed him small monthly trips to Hagerstown, MD.
Simpson was the kind of man, who though he barely had enough to eat himself, hung six-pointed star bird feeders made out of tin cans from his lean-to and filled them with bird seed.
The kind of man, who, though he bedded down like a deer beside the railroad tracks paralleling U.S. 11 in Antrim Township, made a regular donation to Hagerstown's Homeless Shelter. He never went to the shelter himself, - and essentially refused any offers of assistance- but it was a place, friends said, he felt was doing God's work.
Simpson had friends and a routine that kept him moving while the sun was up. But old age and the toll of living homeless for 71 years caught up to Simpson and he died at age 80, wrapped in a blanket beneath a billboard advertising cell phones.
It wasn't until Feb. 5, that his body was found by Lee Poe, in charge of transport for the Foremost Industries, a manufactured home construction business that abutted the patches of land Simpson called home.
From what Simpson told Poe, he left his home in Kansas City, Mo., in 1930, when he was 9 years old. He left a town scoured by the Dust Bowl and hit hard by the Depression for a transient life along the eastern seaboard.
Simpson, never discussed his parents, Poe said, but did mention a brother who lived in New York. Simpson thought his brother had died, becuase it had been 10 or 15 years since Simpson last heard from him.
He worked odd jobs the best he could - construction, farm work, industrial.
About four years ago, he settled into his habitat near Foremost Industries.
Simpson set up camp, constructing his life from the castoffs of others. Each night the roar of traffic along U.S. 11 lulled him to sleep. Each morning, the birds at his feeders woke him up.
Simpson's freedom allowed him to go away for a little while, sometimes taking his bike on a four week trip to Binghamton, NY, for dental appointments. He would also call a taxi to take him and his beloved bike to Hagerstown for a day's ride.
But Simpson always came back.
The last time Poe spoke to Simpson, the day before Christmas, Simpson was weighing the option of going to Florida for the winter with a friend.
A plot at Norland cemetery was donated anonymously. A local funeral home took care of cremating Bennie's remains. Rev Paul B Baker officiated the burial. There was a bouquet of carnations and yellow roses.
(The above was taken from an article published on 15 Feb 2002 in the Public Opinion, newspaper of Chambersburg, PA. Birth and death information, plus his middle name, come from the U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index found on ancestry.com. Information regarding his burial came from the Public Opinion of March 23 & 30, 2002, plus May 23, 2002.)
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My friend and fellow Find- A- Grave contributor JMB (#48615171) shared the following Welsh hymn with me. It describes Bennie's life so beautifully.
Calon Lan (Pure Heart)
I don't ask for a luxurious life,
the world's gold or its fine pearls,
I ask for a happy heart,
an honest heart, a pure heart.
Chorus:
A pure heart full of goodness
Is fairer than the pretty lily,
None but a pure heart can sing,
Sing in the day and sing in the night.
If I wished for worldly wealth,
It would swiftly go to seed;
The riches of a virtuous, pure heart
Will bear eternal profit.
(Chorus)
Evening and morning, my wish
Rising to heaven on the wing of song
For God, for the sake of my Saviour,
To give me a pure heart.
(Chorus)
To people who knew him and more important, to himself, he was a happy, well-liked man. In a sense, he was a rich man, with three "homes" to himself, a bicycle and a small subsidy that allowed him small monthly trips to Hagerstown, MD.
Simpson was the kind of man, who though he barely had enough to eat himself, hung six-pointed star bird feeders made out of tin cans from his lean-to and filled them with bird seed.
The kind of man, who, though he bedded down like a deer beside the railroad tracks paralleling U.S. 11 in Antrim Township, made a regular donation to Hagerstown's Homeless Shelter. He never went to the shelter himself, - and essentially refused any offers of assistance- but it was a place, friends said, he felt was doing God's work.
Simpson had friends and a routine that kept him moving while the sun was up. But old age and the toll of living homeless for 71 years caught up to Simpson and he died at age 80, wrapped in a blanket beneath a billboard advertising cell phones.
It wasn't until Feb. 5, that his body was found by Lee Poe, in charge of transport for the Foremost Industries, a manufactured home construction business that abutted the patches of land Simpson called home.
From what Simpson told Poe, he left his home in Kansas City, Mo., in 1930, when he was 9 years old. He left a town scoured by the Dust Bowl and hit hard by the Depression for a transient life along the eastern seaboard.
Simpson, never discussed his parents, Poe said, but did mention a brother who lived in New York. Simpson thought his brother had died, becuase it had been 10 or 15 years since Simpson last heard from him.
He worked odd jobs the best he could - construction, farm work, industrial.
About four years ago, he settled into his habitat near Foremost Industries.
Simpson set up camp, constructing his life from the castoffs of others. Each night the roar of traffic along U.S. 11 lulled him to sleep. Each morning, the birds at his feeders woke him up.
Simpson's freedom allowed him to go away for a little while, sometimes taking his bike on a four week trip to Binghamton, NY, for dental appointments. He would also call a taxi to take him and his beloved bike to Hagerstown for a day's ride.
But Simpson always came back.
The last time Poe spoke to Simpson, the day before Christmas, Simpson was weighing the option of going to Florida for the winter with a friend.
A plot at Norland cemetery was donated anonymously. A local funeral home took care of cremating Bennie's remains. Rev Paul B Baker officiated the burial. There was a bouquet of carnations and yellow roses.
(The above was taken from an article published on 15 Feb 2002 in the Public Opinion, newspaper of Chambersburg, PA. Birth and death information, plus his middle name, come from the U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index found on ancestry.com. Information regarding his burial came from the Public Opinion of March 23 & 30, 2002, plus May 23, 2002.)
----------
My friend and fellow Find- A- Grave contributor JMB (#48615171) shared the following Welsh hymn with me. It describes Bennie's life so beautifully.
Calon Lan (Pure Heart)
I don't ask for a luxurious life,
the world's gold or its fine pearls,
I ask for a happy heart,
an honest heart, a pure heart.
Chorus:
A pure heart full of goodness
Is fairer than the pretty lily,
None but a pure heart can sing,
Sing in the day and sing in the night.
If I wished for worldly wealth,
It would swiftly go to seed;
The riches of a virtuous, pure heart
Will bear eternal profit.
(Chorus)
Evening and morning, my wish
Rising to heaven on the wing of song
For God, for the sake of my Saviour,
To give me a pure heart.
(Chorus)
Bennie Simpson lived in a lean-too that looked like a children's clubhouse, had been homeless since he was 9 and didn't clock in at a steady job. He died alone in an Antrim Township field and his body wasn't found for several days.
To people who knew him and more important, to himself, he was a happy, well-liked man. In a sense, he was a rich man, with three "homes" to himself, a bicycle and a small subsidy that allowed him small monthly trips to Hagerstown, MD.
Simpson was the kind of man, who though he barely had enough to eat himself, hung six-pointed star bird feeders made out of tin cans from his lean-to and filled them with bird seed.
The kind of man, who, though he bedded down like a deer beside the railroad tracks paralleling U.S. 11 in Antrim Township, made a regular donation to Hagerstown's Homeless Shelter. He never went to the shelter himself, - and essentially refused any offers of assistance- but it was a place, friends said, he felt was doing God's work.
Simpson had friends and a routine that kept him moving while the sun was up. But old age and the toll of living homeless for 71 years caught up to Simpson and he died at age 80, wrapped in a blanket beneath a billboard advertising cell phones.
It wasn't until Feb. 5, that his body was found by Lee Poe, in charge of transport for the Foremost Industries, a manufactured home construction business that abutted the patches of land Simpson called home.
From what Simpson told Poe, he left his home in Kansas City, Mo., in 1930, when he was 9 years old. He left a town scoured by the Dust Bowl and hit hard by the Depression for a transient life along the eastern seaboard.
Simpson, never discussed his parents, Poe said, but did mention a brother who lived in New York. Simpson thought his brother had died, becuase it had been 10 or 15 years since Simpson last heard from him.
He worked odd jobs the best he could - construction, farm work, industrial.
About four years ago, he settled into his habitat near Foremost Industries.
Simpson set up camp, constructing his life from the castoffs of others. Each night the roar of traffic along U.S. 11 lulled him to sleep. Each morning, the birds at his feeders woke him up.
Simpson's freedom allowed him to go away for a little while, sometimes taking his bike on a four week trip to Binghamton, NY, for dental appointments. He would also call a taxi to take him and his beloved bike to Hagerstown for a day's ride.
But Simpson always came back.
The last time Poe spoke to Simpson, the day before Christmas, Simpson was weighing the option of going to Florida for the winter with a friend.
A plot at Norland cemetery was donated anonymously. A local funeral home took care of cremating Bennie's remains. Rev Paul B Baker officiated the burial. There was a bouquet of carnations and yellow roses.
(The above was taken from an article published on 15 Feb 2002 in the Public Opinion, newspaper of Chambersburg, PA. Birth and death information, plus his middle name, come from the U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index found on ancestry.com. Information regarding his burial came from the Public Opinion of March 23 & 30, 2002, plus May 23, 2002.)
----------
My friend and fellow Find- A- Grave contributor JMB (#48615171) shared the following Welsh hymn with me. It describes Bennie's life so beautifully.
Calon Lan (Pure Heart)
I don't ask for a luxurious life,
the world's gold or its fine pearls,
I ask for a happy heart,
an honest heart, a pure heart.
Chorus:
A pure heart full of goodness
Is fairer than the pretty lily,
None but a pure heart can sing,
Sing in the day and sing in the night.
If I wished for worldly wealth,
It would swiftly go to seed;
The riches of a virtuous, pure heart
Will bear eternal profit.
(Chorus)
Evening and morning, my wish
Rising to heaven on the wing of song
For God, for the sake of my Saviour,
To give me a pure heart.
(Chorus)
To people who knew him and more important, to himself, he was a happy, well-liked man. In a sense, he was a rich man, with three "homes" to himself, a bicycle and a small subsidy that allowed him small monthly trips to Hagerstown, MD.
Simpson was the kind of man, who though he barely had enough to eat himself, hung six-pointed star bird feeders made out of tin cans from his lean-to and filled them with bird seed.
The kind of man, who, though he bedded down like a deer beside the railroad tracks paralleling U.S. 11 in Antrim Township, made a regular donation to Hagerstown's Homeless Shelter. He never went to the shelter himself, - and essentially refused any offers of assistance- but it was a place, friends said, he felt was doing God's work.
Simpson had friends and a routine that kept him moving while the sun was up. But old age and the toll of living homeless for 71 years caught up to Simpson and he died at age 80, wrapped in a blanket beneath a billboard advertising cell phones.
It wasn't until Feb. 5, that his body was found by Lee Poe, in charge of transport for the Foremost Industries, a manufactured home construction business that abutted the patches of land Simpson called home.
From what Simpson told Poe, he left his home in Kansas City, Mo., in 1930, when he was 9 years old. He left a town scoured by the Dust Bowl and hit hard by the Depression for a transient life along the eastern seaboard.
Simpson, never discussed his parents, Poe said, but did mention a brother who lived in New York. Simpson thought his brother had died, becuase it had been 10 or 15 years since Simpson last heard from him.
He worked odd jobs the best he could - construction, farm work, industrial.
About four years ago, he settled into his habitat near Foremost Industries.
Simpson set up camp, constructing his life from the castoffs of others. Each night the roar of traffic along U.S. 11 lulled him to sleep. Each morning, the birds at his feeders woke him up.
Simpson's freedom allowed him to go away for a little while, sometimes taking his bike on a four week trip to Binghamton, NY, for dental appointments. He would also call a taxi to take him and his beloved bike to Hagerstown for a day's ride.
But Simpson always came back.
The last time Poe spoke to Simpson, the day before Christmas, Simpson was weighing the option of going to Florida for the winter with a friend.
A plot at Norland cemetery was donated anonymously. A local funeral home took care of cremating Bennie's remains. Rev Paul B Baker officiated the burial. There was a bouquet of carnations and yellow roses.
(The above was taken from an article published on 15 Feb 2002 in the Public Opinion, newspaper of Chambersburg, PA. Birth and death information, plus his middle name, come from the U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index found on ancestry.com. Information regarding his burial came from the Public Opinion of March 23 & 30, 2002, plus May 23, 2002.)
----------
My friend and fellow Find- A- Grave contributor JMB (#48615171) shared the following Welsh hymn with me. It describes Bennie's life so beautifully.
Calon Lan (Pure Heart)
I don't ask for a luxurious life,
the world's gold or its fine pearls,
I ask for a happy heart,
an honest heart, a pure heart.
Chorus:
A pure heart full of goodness
Is fairer than the pretty lily,
None but a pure heart can sing,
Sing in the day and sing in the night.
If I wished for worldly wealth,
It would swiftly go to seed;
The riches of a virtuous, pure heart
Will bear eternal profit.
(Chorus)
Evening and morning, my wish
Rising to heaven on the wing of song
For God, for the sake of my Saviour,
To give me a pure heart.
(Chorus)
