Dorothy "Dottie" Weeder Simpson, of Haverford, PA, died peacefully on Thursday January 28, 2021 at her home at The Quadrangle. She was 94. Dottie was born at the Germantown Hospital in Philadelphia PA. She was the daughter of Dr. S. Dana Weeder and Caroline Weeder Fenton of Germantown, Philadelphia. She was the elder sister to Caroline Bickel of Chattanooga TN, Dr. Dana Weeder of Exeter NH (deceased), and Dr. Richard Weeder of Bradenton, FL. Dottie attended Springside School in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Vassar College. As a child, Dottie was a beautiful athlete competing on her high school varsity field hockey and lacrosse teams.  She was also an accomplished ballet dancer, golfer and tennis player. On April 20, 1949, she married Dr. Zachary A. Simpson. They lived in Fort Bragg NC, where her husband served during the Korean War, went back to Philadelphia briefly, and then ultimately moved to Doylestown, PA.

Dottie was a wonderful mother to four grateful children, Dr. Zachary W. Simpson of Haverford, PA, (wife Starr); Dana A. Simpson of Ossipee NH, (wife Carol); Elizabeth McQuilken of Taylor, TX (husband Mark); and Mary McAuley of Mystic, CT (husband Jim). She was the proud grandmother to seven grandchildren and six great grandchildren. She was also pleased to have two step-grandchildren from her son-in-law Jim and five step-great grandchildren.

While raising her four children, Dottie led a busy life pursuing the activities she loved, such as ballet, the arts, tennis and nature. She loved all animals and had a menagerie to include dogs, cats, goats, chickens, guinea pigs, hamsters, canaries and bunnies. She volunteered with the Bucks County Ballet Company, the Bucks County Arts Alliance, the Doylestown Nature Club, the Board of the Bucks County Community College, and she taught Sunday School at the Doylestown Presbyterian Church.

As her children entered high school, Dottie attended the Antonelli School of Photography in Philadelphia and took art courses at the Bucks County Community College. She started her own photography business, contributing many of the photographs for the catalogues of the Burpee Seed Company and the Mercer Museum of Doylestown, among other clients.

When not in Doylestown, Dottie and her family were at their second home in Tinicum Township PA and later at Pocono Lake Preserve, Pocono, PA. They moved to Ottsville PA in 1977, when their youngest child left for college. There Dottie volunteered actively with Deep Run Presbyterian Church. They subsequently moved to Pocono Lake Preserve for her husband's retirement. To escape the long winters in the Poconos, they eventually moved to San Destin FL. There Dottie enjoyed reading, needlework and the arts. She was also active with Christ the King Episcopal Church, Santa Rosa Beach Florida. At Christ the King, she served on their Vestry and their alter guild, and she was a lay Eucharistic minister. Like her father, she was an avid golfer, winning the Women's Club Championship at San Destin Golf Club and scoring a hole in one. After losing her husband in 1996, her involvement with the Episcopal Church led her to complete the extensive training required to become a Certified Spiritual Director.

In 2004, Dottie left San Destin and moved back to her Philadelphia roots. She settled into an apartment in The Quadrangle in Haverford PA. She was a member of Church of the Redeemer, Bryn Mawr, PA and served as a lay Eucharistic minister, providing communion to the homebound and those in hospitals.

Always a student of the activities she loved, Dottie stayed busy with sculpture, painting and bible study classes.  Like her mother, her preferred art medium was clay, and her preferred subjects were her children and her many friends at The Quadrangle.

Due to COVID restrictions, there will be a private graveside service at the Doylestown Cemetery with a celebration of her life at a future date. In lieu of flowers, donation can be made in her name to the Church of the Redeemer, Bryn Mawr, PA.

Arrangements entrusted to The Oliver H. Bair Co.  (215) 563-1580