Simpson Memorial Draws International Audience
Nearly 450 textile services industry leaders, colleagues, friends and family from across Europe and beyond recently attended a Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Murray Simpson, the longstanding chief executive of the Textile Services Association (TSA), the British counterpart to TRSA. Simpson, 48, died suddenly on Nov. 25, 2014, following a multivehicle collision near Leicester, England.
The Feb. 13 service – held at the historic Southwark Cathedral in London – was filled with memories, both professional and personal, of a man beloved by many for his humor and matter-of-fact and persistent approach to representing the industry. The ceremony was followed by a formal gathering at the cathedral and a subsequent sharing of personal stories and anecdotes at one of Murray’s favorite pubs.
During the ceremony, the Worshipful Company of Launderers, an English trade guild and charitable society that provides scholarships to further the education of people pursuing studies that benefit the laundry industry, announced the creation of a lasting legacy for Simpson in the form of a fund to support the TSA's Textile Rental Management Course, a program that held a special place in his heart. The memorial fund will be used only to support the course – whether by offering scholarships, by general subsidy, or in other ways.
Simpson’s family said he would be proud and honored to have the fund created in his memory, and they are greatly touched that the TSA and the Worshipful Company of Launderers would agree to do this.
“TRSA and the international textile services industry lost a strong ally and friend,” said TRSA President & CEO Joseph Ricci who represented TRSA at the ceremony. “He was a professional who cared about his members, his colleagues and the industry he served for nearly 20 years. He was instrumental in bringing together the international textile services community through the formation of the International Textile Services Alliance (ITSA). With Murray’s passing, the textile services industry lost a leader and supporter; and many of us lost a friend.”