October 9, 1927 - April 4, 2022
Wayne Lipps passed away Monday, April 4, 2022, in Tekamah, Neb.
Wayne was born on Oct. 9, 1927, at the Lipps farmhouse, south of Sterling, Johnson County, Neb. to Thomas Lipps and Mathilda (Schmidt) Lipps.
In 1937, because of the depression and persistent drought, the Lipps family moved to Burt County, northeast of Tekamah where farming conditions were immediately better.
Wayne attended the Arizona Center School, District 3 and high school in Tekamah, graduating in 1945. He was a 3-year letterman on the football team at guard. The Tigers were undefeated all three years. Wayne was an all-conference guard his junior and senior years and captain of the football team when he was a senior.
He attended Midland College in the fall of 1945, played football and was named honorary captain of the football team. After turning 18, he served in the Army as a member of the occupation forces in South Korea after World War II. After his Honorable discharge, he began farming northeast of Tekamah which he continued for over 40 years until he retired.
Wayne married Rita Williams in 1953 and they had two children, Thomas Lipps and Jann Lipps.
Wayne and Rita enjoyed playing golf in Oakland and Tekamah as well as for several winters in Lake Havasu, Ariz. where they developed another circle of friends. Wayne hit a hole in one, at two different times on the same hole, in Tekamah, the last time in 2012.
For several years, Wayne and Rita kept an apartment in Algona so they could see their grandchildren grow up and attend their athletic events. Later, Wayne went to many of Sam’s basketball games at Buena Vista in Storm Lake.
Wayne, until even recently, when he was past 94, remained remarkably undiminished by age. After his granddaughter Kirsten entered Northwestern Medical School in Chicago, Wayne visited there several times. In the summer of 2015, when Wayne was nearly 88, he participated with his family in the Big 10 Network 5K “Fun Run” in downtown Chicago, winning his age division.
After Rita passed away in 2014, Wayne maintained his circle of friends by going to Ronnies Bar every Tuesday night, by having coffee most mornings at the local café and attending church services and fellowship most Sundays. Wayne enjoyed driving out to the country, inspecting the crops and checking on conditions on the Missouri River at his farm. Wayne was a charming family companion and an interesting oral historian of local community conditions and of those people who had lived in the area.
Wayne was a member of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Tekamah since 1937. He served on the church council, was the Arizona township treasurer and also served on the school board for Arizona Center – District 3. Wayne was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion and the Tekamah Lions Club.
Predeceasing Wayne were his wife, Rita, his parents and his three brothers Paul, Lorin and Roy. He is survived by his son, Tom and daughter in-law Jayne of Algona, daughter, Jann, of Boulder, Colo., granddaughter, Kirsten Lipps and her husband Grant Person of Madison, Wis., grandson Samuel Lipps of Storm Lake, great-grandsons, Max and Ansel Person, sister-in-law Ione Lipps, of Tekamah and sister-in-law Betty Lane of Cali., as well as many nieces and nephews.
Memorial Services, which are being handled by Pelan Funeral Home, www.pelanfuneralservices.com, are pending and will be announced for a later date.