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Peter Kooi Simpson was born in 1930, the son of former Wyoming Governor and U.S. Senator Milward Lee Simpson and Lorna Kooi Simpson. He was educated in Cody, Wyoming public schools and went on to receive a B.A. degree in history from the University of Wyoming in 1953. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served four years aboard the U.S.S. Lake Champlain as a bombardier navigator and was honorably discharged in 1958. He also served three years in the U.S. Naval Reserve. After the military, Simpson started his own business, Western Hills, Inc., a successful swimming pool construction and service company in three Rocky Mountain States. Later, he returned to UW where he received a M.A. degree in history in 1962. He then moved to the University of Oregon where he earned his Ph.D. in history and also taught history courses.

In the early 1970s, Simpson returned to Wyoming and began his career as an administrator, first at Casper College as assistant to the president, then at Sheridan College as dean of instruction. While in Sheridan, he was elected to the State Legislature, where he served two terms (1980-1984). During his first term, Simpson was appointed to the Joint Appropriations Committee. In 1984, he became Vice President for Development and Executive Director of the University of Wyoming Foundation. He resigned from that post in 1986 to run for Governor, a race he ultimately lost to Mike Sullivan. He then returned to UW as vice president for development and alumni affairs and later became the vice president for institutional advancement. After retiring in 1997, Simpson taught at UW as an adjunct professor of history and was the Milward Simpson Distinguished Visiting Professor in 1999 and 2000.

Peter Simpson married the former Lynne Livingston of Cody, Wyoming, and had three children: Milward, Maggie, and Pete Jr. His brother, Alan, served three terms in the United States Senate.