Bruce Simpson
Director of Security at Brenden Theatres
“Generous,” “charitable” and “heart of gold” were among the words and phrases used to describe Bruce Simpson, longtime corporate security director at Brenden Theatres and supporter of public safety causes and programs who died suddenly Sunday.
The exact cause has not been announced, but his loss has been felt among the many agencies he has supported.
“He quietly but vigorously had a passion for helping people,” Police Chief Ian Schmutzler said. “We’re gonna miss him tremendously. It’s a huge loss for us here.”
Simpson, 52, was a retired officer with the Concord Police Department who served more than 25 years as the director of security for the Brenden Theatres chain, which includes the theater on Davis Street. His longtime career in law enforcement and marriage to Mindy, an engineer with the Vacaville Fire Department, made him a natural in supporting public safety and helping out wherever he could.
Sometimes it meant helping others even when not on the job. A 2001 Concord Transcript article described an incident where he came upon a car accident on the Benicia Bridge with multiple occupants injured and one killed, and he helped extract the occupants from the car and attempted to perform CPR on the woman who eventually died until paramedics arrived. At the woman’s funeral, her daughter gave Simpson a golden angel as a token of appreciation for attempting to saver her mother’s life.
Simpson also gave credit to another young man who helped at the scene of the accident but he was unable to track down.
“So many people just drive by and don’t care, but there are still some people out there who are willing to do whatever they can,” he said at the time. “I admire that.”
After his retirement from the Concord PD, Simpson continued to support its Police Officers Association and activities, and he eventually decided to expand his scope to include the Vacaville Police Officers Association in his town.
Serving as a community outreach coordinator, Simpson worked to bridge the gap between the department and the community, and he supported several Police Activities League events.
“A lot of the events that we participated in with our community, he was right beside us trying to raise money and awareness,” Capt. Chris Polen said.
One of the most frequent fundraisers was to support the department’s K-9 unit, where he set up a booth at Brenden Theaters to provide information on the program and even brought some of the department’s dogs along to meet with moviegoers in the lobby.
“The number of people coming into the theater to see a show, then having an opportunity to see the dogs, and the kids being able to interact with the officers and the dogs in such a positive and friendly environment (brought) rave reviews, and that’s why we kept doing it again and again,” Schmutzler said. “The fundraising aspect was sort of a secondary objective, but the big one was being able to make those connections, and that’s where Bruce’s heart was.”
Schmutzler also said Simpson also worked with the POA in 2014 to start a program where he donated $50 to $100 Brenden gift cards and have officers distribute them to those in need.
“That was a time where law enforcement was being scrutinized to a higher degree than we’d ever seen before,” Schmutzler said. “He saw an opportunity for us to be able to interact with the community in a positive way that had nothing to do with enforcement or police work.”
Simpson also took part in toy drives, gift-giving events and Vacaville Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club events. Schmutzler said often jumped at the opportunity to take part in these events, and he called him “the epitome of a servant.”
Over the years, Simpson has been honored by the department for his volunteer work numerous times.
Polen said that Simpson enjoyed seeing the smiles on people’s faces.
“He wanted to participate and seeing the smiles of giving back and the joy that it brought to him, what it brought to the officers, professional staff and into our community,” he said. “He was really just known for being that genuine, caring, understanding person who just wanted to bring good into people’s lives.”
Officer Erwin Ramirez, a Vacaville POA member, said Simpson worked to ensure the association had resources to decompress after negative situations.
“He was there to make sure that we built camaraderie within the association, the ability to just be families and talk with each other and spend time together,” he said.
Simpson also hosted screenings at Brenden to support different agencies and groups, such as a partnership with Vacaville Firefighters Association Local 3501 for a screening of “Only the Brave” to benefit the victims of the Atlas and Tubbs fires in 2017.
“He was mostly involved with helping people out wherever he could,” Fire Chief Kris Concepcion said. “He would give folks theater tickets, and he always showed great support for the Fire Department.”
That same year, Simpson hosted an exclusive sensory-friendly screening of “Boss Baby” for families of children with autism. One of those parents who attended was Nicole Neff, who brought her entire family, including her daughter Rayna, who has autism.
“He invited all of our special needs families here in Solano County to be able to take advantage of the lower lights, the lower volume and have it all sensory-friendly for our kids on the spectrum,” she said.
Neff said that Rayna “had a blast” and appreciated that Simpson put on such an event in Solano.
“We really appreciated Bruce and his generosity for having this event scheduled at Brenden,” she said.
Neff remained Facebook friends with Simpson afterward and appreciated his humor and spirit.
“He was a great guy with a big heart (and) did so much for out community,” she said. “I’m sorry to hear the sad news.”
In 2018, Simpson also hosted a screening of “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” for Braylon Albright and Kyra Williams, two local kids battling cancer. As a bonus, Simpson also worked with Daniel “Cully” Pratt — then a deputy with the Solano County Sheriff’s Office — to arrange for an in-person appearance by Pratt’s brother Chris, the movie’s star, which resulted in cheers from the audience.
At the same screening, Simpson auctioned off bracelets made by Braylon and Kyra, which sold for $250 and $165; the money going back to the kids.
Many agreed that it was Simpson’s altruism they would miss most.
“(He supported) anything and everything from underprivileged kids to sick kids, made sure underprivileged families at holidays had gifts,” Officer Andy Stefenoni, president of Vacaville POA, said. “Any kind of special event, he’d be a part of.”
Concepcion said he had a “kind, giving heart.”
“Every time you spoke to him, it seemed like he was trying to do something for the less fortunate in the community,” he said.
Schmutzler said Simpson has not been on the payroll at Brenden for the last few years but continued to do security there so he could be able to do the fundraisers.
“He wasn’t even receiving a paycheck,” he said. “He just did the work so that when an opportunity came up to help someone or to have a fundraiser or an event, the theater would allow them to do that.”
Despite his philanthropic efforts, Schmutzler said Simpson was very humble about it.
“He wasn’t in it for glory,” he said. “He wasn’t in it for money or anything like that. He literally worked to serve people.”
Simpson is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren.
