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James Verne Whipp ’41

James Verme Whipp 鈥�41, June 13, 2011, in Reno, Nevada. Jim grew up in Portland and always wanted to go to college. But money was tight in the Great Depression, so he went to work at Fred Meyer, saving up for tuition, and finally arrived at Reed in 1936. He enrolled in a special combined program in chemistry, spending three years at Reed and then transferring to MIT, earning a BA in chemistry and a BS in chemical engineering. 鈥淚 have often stated that MIT prepared me for my livelihood, but my time at Reed had the most effect on my enjoyment of life.鈥� Jim was a project director, chemical engineer, and project salesman for Union Oil of California and C.F. Braun. He and his wife, Audrey A. Warner, lived in many places, including California, Utah, England, Venezuela, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. They returned to England regularly to attend theatre and concerts and to visit friends; they also traveled annually to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and to the Telluride Chamber Music Festival. Jim enjoyed backpacking and fishing, and spent 鈥渁ll seasonable time鈥� hiking in the Sierras and the Grand Canyon. He also wrote computer programs for financial and statistical applications, even at age 91. He is remembered for his warmth, his wit, his keen analysis, and his abundant generosity. Audrey died in 1966, and in 1968 he married Roberta A. Niklad, who survives him, as do two sons, two grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Appeared in Reed magazine: December 2011