Stanley Merriam Simpson (b.10 August 1886, d. 20 March 1959), also referred to as Stanley M. Simpson, or S.M. Simpson, was born in Chatsworth, ON. He arrived in Kelowna in 1913 at the age of 27. Here, he plied a carpentry trade and eventually established a screen door manufacturing company (S.M. Simpson Sash & Door, later S.M.S. Ltd., established 1916). Throughout his career, he established a box factory, a veneer plant, and a sawmill, all centred in the Kelowna, BC area. He also owned mill operations in Peachland, Lumby, and Malakwa, and operated a tree farm on the west side of Okanagan Lake.
In 1916, he married Bertha Birch, (b. 1885, d. 17 April 1917). A son, Horace Birch Simpson (b. 17 March 1917, d. 20 September 1994) was born.
On 25 November, 1944, following a series destructive mill fires, S.M. Simpson was approached by the city of Kelowna and asked to give the City of Kelowna an option to purchase the parcel of land damaged in the fire on Kelowna’s waterfront on Okanagan Lake. S.M. Simpson agreed, but only under particular terms of sale governing the exclusive civic or community use of the land, and conditions of resale, which precluded any subsequent commercial uses of the land. A total of nearly eight acres was purchased by the City for $55,000. The City acknowledged that the purchase price was considerably less than it would have been if it were purchased for the purpose of subdivision and commercial use. This agreement would come to be known as “The Simpson Covenant” and/or “The Simpson Covenants,” and/or “The Kelowna Sawmill Covenants.”

Sharron J. Simpson was born and grew up in Kelowna. After attending university, Sharron Simpson resided in Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto before returning to Kelowna in 1984. Her occupations have included social worker, stockbroker, politician, and teacher.
Sharron J. Simpson has been actively engaged in advocacy for the preservation of family and community heritage and led the successful 2007 court challenge of the City of Kelowna’s proposed dissolution of the Simpson Covenant which was put in place by her grandfather, Stanley Merriam Simpson.