Simpson, James Allen 1/18/1934 - 1/12/2021 (age 86) Days before his 87th birthday, Allen died in St Paul, MN after a long struggle with Parkinson's Disease. Allen is survived by his wife, Jantje Visscher, son Gregory Simpson (Monta Hayner), daughter Kaia David (Carey David), and four grandchildren Reed Simpson (Kelsey McBride), Natalie Simpson, Erica David and Keith David. Allen was born in Burbank, CA to Doris Wilkinson Simpson and James Allen Simpson, Sr. He was an enthusiastic raconteur with a dry wit, and he loved nothing more than meeting and charming new people - qualities he exhibited even in his final days of chatting with his caregivers from HealthPartners Hospice Care and LifeSprk, for whose loving support the family is very grateful. At 19, Allen enlisted in the U.S. Marines and was honorably discharged as a Sergeant three years later. In 1956, days after his discharge, he enrolled at the University of Minnesota, where he met Jantje. Allen and Jantje married in 1958, and Allen earned his degree in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Minnesota in 1960. He then received his Master's Degree and PhD from UC Berkeley and was hired as an Associate Professor (later promoted to Full Professor) at Minnesota. Allen spent his 27-year academic career at the U, teaching and writing about Scandinavian languages and literature. In 1989, Allen began a second career as a writer of mystery novels. Under the nom de plume M.D. Lake, he wrote ten books starring female protagonist Peggy O'Neill, a campus policewoman patrolling a large midwestern university littered with a surprising number of corpses. He also wrote short stories for several anthologies and the Alfred Hitchcock Magazine. After his retirement in 1992, Allen learned Italian and traveled frequently to Italy, often taking his grandchildren with him. He threw himself into progressive politics, campaigning for Sen. Paul Wellstone, John Kerry, and Barack Obama. In recent years, Allen co-edited his condominium's newsletter, wrote and co-directed a murder mystery play, and gave a number of talks and lectures. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorials be made in Allen's name to When We All Vote or Planned Parenthood North Central States. A memorial Zoom is planned for Saturday, 1/23 at 2:00 pm. Please email allensimpson@comcast.net by 1/22 for a link. (Photo: Dan Marshall)