Robert Jipping, pastor, missionary and teacher, died Feb. 10 at the age of 82.
After graduating from Calvin College, Jipping taught at Calvin Christian School in South Holland, Ill., where he met his future wife. After marriage they taught together at Zuni Christian School in New Mexico. They later returned to Grand Rapids so Jipping could study at Calvin Theological Seminary.
After ordination in 1969, the Jippings spent a year in Costa Rica learning Spanish before moving to Argentina where he served as a missionary with Christian Reformed World Missions (now Resonate Global Mission) in Tres Arroyos and Chascomús. Back in the U.S. a few years later, he pastored the following congregations: Christian Reformed Church of Cedar (Iowa); Prairie Lane CRC, Omaha, Neb.; Greene Road CRC, Goshen, Ind.; and Crownpoint (N.M.) CRC. “The last was a Christian Reformed Home Missions Navajo church where he was very happy,” said his daughter.
Jipping loved to be around children and to sing, and he was an avid Detroit Tigers baseball fan. After retirement in 2002, he volunteered in prison ministry in the South Holland area and at Sauk Village Food Pantry.
Predeceased by his wife, Ann, he will be lovingly remembered by his daughter Mary, and son, Timothy.
About the Author
A former nurse and chaplain, Janet Greidanus is a freelance news correspondent and long-time writer of the In Memoriam column for The Banner.
