Ex-Fluor Daniel Official John D. Simpson Dies

John D. Simpson, a former top official in the New York transit system who more recently was an executive with the Flour Corp., has died of cancer and will be buried Friday in the U.S. Military Academy Cemetery in West Point, N.Y.

Simpson, 52, joined Fluor Daniel, the Fluor Corp.’s construction and engineering arm, in 1983 to head the company’s efforts in providing engineering and construction services to the transportation industry. Before joining Fluor he was president of the New York Transit Authority and executive director of New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority.

After serving as president of Fluor Daniel Transportation and Infrastructure Inc., in 1986 he was appointed president of the Venture Group, which chose projects that Fluor Daniel designed and built, and in which Fluor took an ownership interest.

Simpson graduated from the Military Academy in 1959 and received master’s degrees in engineering and public affairs from Princeton. While in the Army he served in Korea, Berlin and Vietnam. He resigned as a lieutenant colonel after a tour of duty on the White House staff. He is survived by his wife, Ellie, of Laguna Hills; a daughter, Heather, of New York City, and a son, Sean, a cadet at West Point.