Vaughn Tippit

Vaughn Elvin (V.E.) Tippit passed away on December 5th, 2015, at the age of 89. He was born in Neosho, Missouri on August 28, 1926, the oldest son of Milford and Elpha Tippit. "Tip," as he was known, was a veteran of WWII. With his mother"s permission, he joined the Navy at age 17 and was stationed in Alaska. He married Jean Huston in Joplin, Mo, on October 4, 1946. He went to college on the G.I. Bill and graduated from the Missouri Schools of Mines with a bachelor"s degree in civil engineering. Along with his wife Jean, Tip has lived in Paola since 1955. He was the owner of Tippit Construction Company and served on the USD 368 school board. Tip was a man of many hobbies. He owned small airplanes and was a pilot and a skydiver. He was a hunter, a skier, a bicycler, and a traveler. He won many medals while skiing the mountains of Colorado and bicycling in the Senior Olympics. He and Jean rode in many long-distance bicycle races, including the MS 150 and the Hotter"N Hell 100 in Texas. Tip enjoyed his retirement immensely. He and Jean traveled the country in an RV for about 15 years. They visited 49 states as well as most of Canada and Mexico. One of his favorite sayings during his years of travel was "We seek adventure!" He spent many summers volunteering at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona, where he hiked the desert for miles fixing broken fences. He had a lifelong love of Alaska and spent many summers there deep sea fishing for halibut and salmon. One of the greatest days of his life was when he reeled in a 172-pound halibut with a fishing rod. Tip was a father of four and a grandfather of eight. He could build just about anything and even constructed an above-ground pool so his grandkids could swim. Tip will be remembered by his family as a man who was stubborn and had very strong convictions, as well as a storyteller who could talk for hours about the past, telling tales all measure of funny, delightful, and tragic. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Jean Tippit, son Steve Tippit of Denver, Co, daughters Nancy (Bill) Kohl of Denver, Co, Judy Liesmann of Topeka, and Jane (Tom) Newman of Paola. His grandchildren are Tiffany (Greg) Panza of Denver, Co, Trevor (Anna) Kohl of Overland Park, Brian (Colleen) Liesmann of Leawood, Heidi (Mike) Rookstool of Topeka, Robin (Austin) Rogel of Chicago, IL, Alice Tippit of Chicago, IL, and Zachary Walker Tippit of Kansas City, MO. He also is survived by 11 great grandchildren. Tip was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Denvel Tippit, and his granddaughter Tracy Kohl of Paola. Cremation. No services will be held. Tip has requested his ashes be scattered in the Rocky Mountains. To leave a message for Tip's family, please click the "Share Memories" tab above.