The Blog of Death: R. Hunter Simpson

Blog of Death does obituaries for those of lesser fame. They do concentrate the mind.

The Blog of Death: R. Hunter Simpson

Humanitarian R. Hunter Simpson died on Dec. 31 of brain cancer. He was 18.

Simpson was the son of Brooks and Anne Simpson, and the grandson of corporate magnate W. Hunter Simpson and Dottie Simpson, who was certified by the Guinness World Records as the oldest woman to experience zero gravity. Although Hunter was born to wealth and privilege, he opted to live a simple and charitable life.

Simpson graduated last June from Bellevue High School in Bellevue, Wash., where he won the Brandy West Award, an honor given annually to a student who exemplifies character and leadership. While he participated in the wrestling and lacrosse teams, Simpson still found the time to prepare and give away hot meals for the homeless. During summers, he built homes for the poor in Tijuana, Mexico.

When he was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2005, The Make-a-Wish Foundation offered Simpson a final wish. Instead of choosing something for himself, however, he gave the wish to New Horizons Ministries, a nonprofit, interdenominational Christian ministry that serves Seattle's street youth. His wish provided the organization with furniture and clothing.

In the last months of his life, Simpson attended Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia. He saved up his meal-plan money by subsisting on two cups of soup a day. Last month, he used the remaining credits on the plan to purchase $900 worth of food from the school cafeteria -- which he then gave to homeless children in Seattle.

Gliomas are vile things.