Russell Simpson was doing something he'd done many times before: talking to a group of junior high school students about the impact crime has on people's lives.
As the father of two children who were murdered in Toledo, 12 years apart, he knows painfully well how a single act of violence creates many victims. But he didn't know the whole story until that day at school.
A 14-year-old girl came up to him after his presentation and filled him in: her father had been in prison since she was 10. He would not be around for her birthdays, graduation, wedding -- for anything.
"Most people look at crime as one on one," Mr. Simpson said. "They do not look at the broad aspects of how it affects the victim's family, and the one thing I learned was that pretty much the same effect it has on the victim's family, it has on the perpetrator's family."
Mr. Simpson, who has shared his story with some 22,000 Lucas County school children and with inmates at Ohio prisons, hopes that his work helps change attitudes. The people who invite him to speak say it does.
"My way of handling things and trying to keep my sanity is to do these things," the retired Greyhound bus driver said. "I honestly feel I am doing some good and as long as I feel I'm making a difference I'll keep doing it."
Mr. Simpson, 69, is the sixth Toledo area resident to be selected for a Jefferson Award for Public Service. The national awards program, which recognizes individuals who work to improve the quality of life in their communities, is being sponsored locally for the first time by The Blade, Buckeye CableSystem, WUPW-TV, and Cumulus Broadcasting.
Mr. Simpson's older sister, Barbara John, nominated him for the award. She has sat in on several of his presentations.
"I've seen some of the kids fall asleep in the class. I've seen them reduced to tears," she said. "After one talk, one kid chased him down in the hall and said, 'Mister, I'm sorry about your kids,' and bolted out the doors. That has stayed with me forever."
In May, 1969, 4-year-old Stacy Simpson was strangled by an 18-year-old neighbor. Her killer was tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. But Mr. Simpson and his wife, Pat, could find no one to help them through the unfathomable shock and pain.
"Nine months after our daughter's murder, my wife and I went to see a psychologist because we were still having trouble," Mr. Simpson recalled. "He listened to us and then said, 'My God, it's been nine months. Get on with your lives.' "
Twelve years later, the Simpsons' 19-year-old son, Scott, was shot to death while attempting to stop a shoplifter at the Swayne Field Kroger store where he worked as a security guard. The same week, the Simpsons learned their daughter's killer had been released from prison on parole.
The heart-breaking chain of events was the catalyst for the work Mr. Simpson would soon find himself doing.
In 1983, the Simpsons founded the Toledo chapter of Parents of Murdered Children, a self-help support group where families of victims could talk to people who truly knew what they were experiencing. Mr. Simpson led the group until the mid-1990s and served on the organization's national board for eight years. He also helped individuals launch chapters in other cities.
He became a facilitator for the victim/offender dialogue program run through the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. He is trained to prepare and bring together crime victims or survivors with the perpetrator for a face-to-face meeting in prison.
Since his son's murder, Mr. Simpson also has become a tireless advocate for victims' and survivors' rights. For three years he lobbied then-Lucas County Prosecutor Tony Pizza to create a victim assistance program. He succeeded in 1991.
First Published December 28, 2003, 6:50 p.m.