Jason “Skippy” Simpson joined the Woolwich Fire Department when he was 15. He didn’t even have a driver’s license yet, mother Annette Simpson said.

This year marked the 1993 Wiscasset High School graduate’s 25th year with the department, the last seven as its safety officer. Simpson, 40, of Wiscasset died unexpectedly on Feb. 12.

“We’ve lost a family member,” Woolwich Fire Chief Geoffrey McCarren said Monday. “Twenty-five years is a long time to know someone.”

On Saturday, Feb. 21, at Wiscasset High School, all are welcome at a 2 p.m. memorial service and, afterward, a celebration of Simpson’s life. He lived it helping others, without their even having to ask, family members and Simpson’s fellow firefighters said upstairs at the fire station Monday afternoon.

Around a table as big as the birthday cake Simpson used in one of his many practical jokes, they talked about their son, brother, fiancée and friend.

“He just had a huge heart,” brother Ethan Simpson said. “He was always there to help and to give to people, and charity.”

At a Wiscasset Ambulance Attendants Association chili cook-off fundraiser in September 2013, Simpson donated back the cash prize he and son Connor got for winning “Best of the Best” at the event.

Simpson was a devoted father of three, appearing in parades with them and doing other weekend activities after working all week as a truck driver for Tyson Foods.

Every road trip with his children and their mother, Simpson’s fiancée Stacey Knight, had to include playing the song “Holiday Road” from National Lampoon’s “Vacation” movie series, Knight said.

The practical jokes on family and friends included turning mailboxes around, putting doughnut holes on vehicles’ antennae  and signing people up for magazine subscriptions.

“I can’t tell you how many phone calls I got: ‘You signed up for this.’ ‘Well, no, I didn’t,’” Fire Captain Glen Kirkpatrick said. He once caught Simpson leaving radishes in his yard. There were so many, Kirkpatrick was finding them for years.

“He’s a big kid, isn’t he,” Annette Simpson said about her son.

“Absolutely,” McCarren agreed. “I wouldn’t take him any other way, though.”

Those who knew Simpson marveled at his ability to fit in service to the fire department with other parts of his life. “He went above and beyond,” said Arrowsic Fire Chief Chris Cummings, a past member of the Woolwich department.

Simpson put much time and effort into his role as safety officer, helping firefighters on driving safely and working safely at scenes, as well as working on fire prevention in the community.

He took a week off from driving a truck to plan last year’s open house that drew 400 visitors to the fire station and garnered accolades from other departments. “It was the best one we’ve ever had,” McCarren said.

At events the department and other organizations put on, Simpson made sure there were hot dogs, cotton candy and a popcorn machine, which more than once took out part of a building’s electricity.

Making the events fun for children was important to Simpson. “He was always there for the kids’ delight,” McCarren said.

Over the years, Simpson helped with the department’s rookie program, helped reestablish the department’s auxiliary; and shared gun safety with fellow firefighters. “He thought outside the box. He was thinking of people’s safety,” McCarren said.

It was the only thing Simpson didn’t kid about. “You had the happy-go-lucky Skippy, and then he had the very serious side when it really needed to be,” McCarren said.  “He did not fool around when safety was an issue.”

In lieu of flowers, donations in Simpson’s memory may be made to the Woolwich Fire Department Association Benevolent Fund, 13 Nequasset Road, Woolwich, ME 04579, or to the Lincoln County Animal Shelter, 27 Atlantic Hwy., Edgecomb, ME 04556. Simpson loved dogs, family members said.