Lasting Memories

Richard E. Nippes
Aug. 28, 1922-May 5, 2014
Atherton, California
Submitted by Richard S. Nippes

Richard E. (Dick) Nippes, 91, passed away on May 5, 2014, from congestive heart failure.

Dick was born in Ridgway, PA, on August 28, 1922. He graduated from Ridgway High School in 1940. Then started college at Pennsylvania State University in 1940 where he majored in Chemistry and was a member of NROTC.

In 1943, Dick was drafted into the Navy with one semester left to get his degree. He was sent to Northwestern University for midshipmen's school. Commissioned as an ensign in the USNR, Dick was sent to Boston, MA, where he commanded minesweepers patrolling Boston Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean. In 1945, he was ordered to China, but the war was over by the time he got there. In China, Dick served as mess and supply officer on the USS Obstructor, a minesweeper supply ship that patrolled the Yangtze River. Later, he became the ship?s captain.

In 1946, he received orders to return to the U.S. and was honorably discharged as a lieutenant (jg). Dick returned to Penn State and finished his degree in 1946.

After graduation, Dick began work as a chemical salesman for PPG Industries in Akron, OH. A succession of promotions within the chemical sales division required moves to Boston, MA; New York City; Pittsburgh, PA; before moving to the Bay Area to become Regional Sales Manager in 1971. Dick worked for PPG for 37 years before retiring in 1983. Dick married the love of his life, Frances Ruth Corby, on April 21, 1947. They were married for 63 years before Fran passed away on February 21, 2011.

Dick enjoyed golf and gardening. He was actively involved in Holbrook-Palmer Park Foundation.

Dick is survived by his children: Richard, James, Louise, and William; grandchildren: Nicole, Matthew, Andrew, Kristen, James, and Mark; and his brother Paul.