Nancy Dalsis Simpson

Nancy was born in Buffalo, New York, the oldest child of Louann Belt and Elmer Augustus Dalsis. She spent her early years in Elmira, New York, where her siblings Cathy and Gus were born. The family moved to Melbourne, Florida, where Nancy graduated from Melbourne High in 1964. During her high school and pre-college years, Nancy attended Miss Fine’s School in Princeton, NJ, and spent a year as an au pair in Germany—taking a gap year before gap years were cool.

She and her sister Cathy attended Stetson University in Deland, Florida, graduating in 1969. Nancy was accompanied during her college years by her wire-haired pointing griffon Max, who lived with her in her dorm against regulations. Nancy majored in medieval history and research, beginning a lifetime of meticulous record keeping and painstaking attention to detail. She was fascinated with unraveling the mysteries hidden in plain sight in public records.

After Stetson, Nancy entered the Division of Library and Information Management at Emory University, where she met fellow student and her life’s companion, Rolly Simpson. They were married in 1970 while Rolly was on a brief leave from the Marines.

Post Marines, Rolly secured a job as a science librarian at Burroughs Wellcome, and the pair moved to Raleigh. Nancy worked briefly for NCSU and in a local veterinarian’s office before landing a job as a real estate paralegal at Manning Fulton and Skinner. Nancy had been in the first graduating class of the Meredith College Paralegal Program, specializing in Real Estate and later was one of the first paralegals to be certified by the North Carolina State Bar (CP00010 in 2005). At the law firm, she made herself indispensable, ruling over the firm’s real property records, venturing into courthouse vaults across the state, and solving the most arcane and difficult puzzles of chain of title and land ownership. The firm retained her into her late 70s as the prize employee she was.

At Manning Fulton, Nancy was known for her year-round themed Christmas tree decorations (one year creating ornaments for every lawyer who had left the firm over the past 40 years), her Fireball parties, and the real estate section throw downs she hosted at her home.

She was active at Christ Episcopal Church, where she deployed her preciseness and unbending rule following as a member of the altar guild. She and Rolly built a charming home in Oriental, modeled on Seaside, Florida architecture, and enjoyed boating in Pamlico Sound.

Throughout her time in Raleigh and Oriental, Nancy loved and enjoyed a series of dogs—Nutmeg and Ginger, the Airedales; rescue dogs Millie (named for Mildred Street in Oriental, where she was found), Buzz, and Rosie; and finally, another wire haired pointing griffon, BobbyDodd, who stayed by her bedside until the end, no matter what Nancy’s caretakers said.

Nancy is survived by her spouse, Rolly Leonard Simpson of Raleigh; sister Cathy Dalsis Harris and spouse Dean of Oregon; and brother Gus Dalsis, also of Oregon, and three nieces, Amy Bromme, Basia Aguila, and Cari Meadows.

The family would like to thank Transitions Hospice and Comfort Keepers for their care of Nancy and their forbearance of BobbyDodd in her final days.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00pm on Monday, June 16, 2025 at Christ Church, 120 E. Edenton St, Raleigh.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the SPCA of Wake County at https://spcawake.org/.

Brown-Wynne, 300 Saint Mary's Street, Raleigh is serving the Simpson family.