Doris Lipps

Doris Lipps was a woman who created so many beautiful things with her needle and thread, stitching them together into something so beloved. She did the same with the people around her, as a loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend. Doris was the common thread that brought us together, and brought us closer, just as her love and her memory do today. Doriss story began on a warm fall day in 1917, in the beautiful shoreline city of Muskegon, Michigan. Those were turbulent times around the globe, as America battled in World War I. Amid those dark days, William and Margaret (Houle) Smith found a little light in their life, with the birth of a beautiful baby girl on September 18, 1917, a daughter they named Doris. Doris was the first of the couples six children, and was later joined by her little siblings Bill, Jack, Don, Fran and Nancy. When she was just a young girl, though, her father left the family, and left her hardworking mother to raise her kids alone. Doriss mom worked as a seamstress at Hardy Herpolsheimers, and also out of their home, which was located on Merril Street in Muskegon. Her mother also taught Doris everything she knew about sewing, a talent that would someday serve her well. They were a good, Catholic family, and faithfully attended St. Jean Baptiste Catholic Church, where the kids also went to elementary school. Doris eventually graduated from Muskegon High School. When she was just 17, Doris met a handsome young man named Willie Lipps, who went to her church. One day Willie asked her if he could walk her home, and a lifelong love grew in just those few short blocks. Doris was dating someone else at the time, but Willie was persistent and finally won her over. Doris found work at the Norge Plant in Muskegon after high school, and she and Willie continued to date for several years. The happy couple was married on May 6, 1939, and soon settled into a little cottage in the Lakewood area north of Muskegon. It wasnt long before the new bride and groom became mother and father, as well. Their daughter Mary Ann joined the family in1940, followed by their daughter Peggy in 1942. The growing family sold the cottage and move to Sixth Street in Muskegon, but they would soon be separated by the turmoil of World War II. Wanting to do his part, Willie enlisted in the Navy, but being a family man, he was stationed in California and thankfully never saw action. He returned home on leave periodically, and the couple added their son Tom to the family in 1945. Willie returned home not long after, and their son Jack rounded out the family in 1950. To help make ends meet, Doris worked as a seamstress out of their home, making clothes on the side, just like her mother did. With Doriss help, they saved enough to buy a home on Jefferson Street. From that home a business grew, as Doris and Willie started Campus Draperies. Doris made the drapes, and Willie would deliver and install them after his job at Continental Motors. Over the next 25 years, Doris made beautiful drapes for many Muskegon-area businesses and homes. They all faithfully attended St. Jeans for many years, as well. In 1961, they moved once again, to Laketon Township and eventually to Glenwood Street, to a home with a big basement Doris used for her business. They also became founding members of the Prince of Peace Catholic Church just down the road. As hard as Doris and Willie worked, they made sure their family never suffered for it. In fact, they did so well with two incomes, they had extra money for some of the finer things in life, like a TV! The family had one of the first TVs in the 1950s, and neighbors would come over and stand on the porch to watch it. Doris was a beloved figure in her community for much more than her TV, though. She was the kind of caring, compassionate woman others were drawn to, and enjoyed having people over for dinner. Doris loved to cook, and often baked casseroles for bereaved friends, which Willie always delivered. Doris also had many hobbies over the years, especially tending to her incredible gardens. While it was usually hidden under a thimble, Doris really had a green thumb! She loved to garden, and was a member of a garden club for many, many years. Doris landscaped her home with amazing gardens, and even grew beautiful violets with grow lamps in her basement in the winter! Doris decorated her home just as beautifully on the inside, too. She loved to collect owl figures and statues, which adorned every corner of her home. Doris retired from her business in 1990, after her eyesight made it difficult to continue. She enjoyed her retirement, spending time with Willie, or her beloved grandchildren. She loved those kids, and the sweet-toothed Doris always brought them some chocolate donuts whenever they visited. Willie sadly had a stroke in 1998, and was moved to Hillcrest Nursing Home, where Doris visited him every day for the next three years, until he died in 2001. Doris continued on, surrounded by her family and her many friends. Eventually, she moved to assisted living at Village of the Oaks, where she made many friends, and was beloved for her warm, charming personality. In the summer of 2007, though, Doriss health began to fail, and she sadly died on Saturday, October 13, 2007, at the Poppen House, with her family by her side, at the age of 90. Doris was a wonderful woman, who lived a wonderful life, a life so full of family, faith, and fond memories. She was a seamstress by trade, creating so many beautiful things with needle and thread, stitching them together into something so beloved. She did the same with the people around her, her life and her love the thread binding us together, just as her memory does today. She will be greatly missed. Doris is survived by her 2 daughters, Mary Ann (Curtis) DuPree of Las Vegas, NV, Peggy LeLoff of Umatilla, FL; 2 sons, Tom (Pat) Lipps of Battle Creek, Jack (Marcia) Lipps fo Muskegon; sister Nancy (Bill) Schmaltzer of Muskegon; 9 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren. She was preceeded in death by her husband Willie in 2001, 3 brothers, Bill, Jack & Don and a sister Fran. Services are scheduled for Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 2:00 PM at Prince of Peace Catholic Church with Fr. Phil Sliwinski officiating. Interment at Laketon Township Cemetery. Visitation is Monday 6-9 PM at Clock Life Story Funeral Home with a Rosary service at 7 PM. Memorial donations may be made to the Prince of Peace Catholic Church. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com to share a memory or sign the online guest book.