Henry H. Tippett

Henry Herbert Tippett, 85, of Stevensville, passed away on Monday, March 14, 2005, at Golden Place Two in St. Joseph after a courageous twenty-six year battle with Parkinson?s disease. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 2:30 P.M., Thursday, March 17, 2005, at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 2001 Niles Ave., St. Joseph, with Rev. Dr. Robert Braman officiating. Burial will follow in Hickory Bluff Cemetery in Stevensville. Memorials may be made to Michigan Parkinson?s Foundation, First Congregational Church of Christ, or to Hospice at Home of Stevensville. Friends may call on the family from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M., on Wednesday, March 16, 2005, at Kerley- Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph. Friends are invited to send the family a condolence message or sign the guest book on-line at www.starks-menchinger.com. Henry was born in West Orange, New Jersey on May 2, 1919, the only son of Henry Wills and Edith Smith Tippett. He was educated at Pace University and Rutgers University. A veteran of World War II, Henry served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army in both the Pacific and European Theaters, and fought in the historic Battle of the Bulge. He received three Battle Stars for the Ardennes, Central Europe, and Rhineland Campaigns. After he was honorably discharged in October 1945, he returned to New Jersey where he married Doris Virginia Johnson on March 16, 1946. He spent the majority of his career in financially related positions, both in New Jersey and Michigan, including Comptroller of Heath Company and General Manager of the Jack Division of Auto Specialties from which he retired in 1982. He was actively involved in the communities in which he lived, serving on the Board and as President of the United Way; as president of the Financial Executive Institute; and as a Trustee and Treasurer of the Tiscornia Foundation. He was a Lakeland Hospital Auxiliary volunteer and a member of the Berrien Hills Country Club for many years where he was on the Board and served as Treasurer, and was also a member of the First Congregational Church in St. Joseph. He is survived by his wife, Doris and two daughters?Nan (Michael) Johnson of Crested Butte, CO, and Sally (David) Grumbine of St. Joseph; grandchildren?Steven (Tina) Johnson of Brunswick, Maine, Sara Johnson of Morrison, CO, Kristin (Brett) Wier of Royal Oak, MI, and Kara, Andrew & Alex Grumbine of St. Joseph; and great-granddaughter Margaret Johnson of Brunswick, Maine. He was preceded by his parents and his sister, Mary Tippett Adams of Raleigh, NC.