Muriel Simpson

Muriel was born on April 15, 1909, in Sheffield, Westmoreland on the island of Jamaica, W.I. She was the youngest of nine children born to Charles Antonio McKenzie and Lillian Panton McKenzie. She had four brothers; Basil, Charles Jr., George and Phillip; and four sisters; Lillian, Eva, Gertrude and Princess. In addition, she had several half brothers and sisters.

Muriel lost her father when she was six months old and her mother when she was twelve. She was raised by her sister Gertrude. Members of the family migrated to different countries including the United States. In 1939, Muriel came to New York and lived with her sister Eva for about a year, then returned to Jamaica. In 1943, she returned for good. During that time she met and married Sanford Simpson, a Jamaican, who had migrated from Jamaica in the late 1920’s. They married in January, 1947 and had one daughter, Delores, who was born during a blizzard. The couple lived in Harlem until 1964, then moved to the Bronx. In 1965 the couple separated. Sanford returned to Jamaica and remained there until his death in 1979.

Muriel worked as a domestic and housekeeper for many years. After her retirement in 1975, she moved in with her daughter, Delores. While living with Delores, she made several trips to Jamaica to visit her siblings, other relatives and friends. She also enjoyed going to the theater, the movies, going shopping, and taking trips to Bermuda and Canada. In later years, she enjoyed annual excursions to Newport, Rhode Island with her daughter.

Muriel was very spiritual and had been raised in the Wesleyan Church. While living in Harlem, the family attended St. James Presbyterian Church. While no longer a member of any congregation, Muriel remained deeply spiritual. Her favorite hymn was “ What a Friend We Have in Jesus”.

Muriel also enjoyed shopping. Her favorite stores were B. Altman and Fortunoff.

Muriel was a wonderful cook and enjoyed keeping house.

The family were baseball fans. Muriel became an avid New York Mets fan after the Brooklyn Dodgers left the city. She never gave up on the Mets throughout their many disappointing seasons. She rejoiced during their miracle 1969 Championship season, and in the winning seasons that followed. She was especially jubilant during their 1986 Championship and was very disappointed at their 2000 loss. Throughout it all, she never gave up on her beloved Mets.

Muriel is survived by her loving daughter, Delores, cousins and many, many nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews and great grand nieces and nephews.