Though he has not posted much lately, anyone who went to a Harbour Lights event has a good chance of having met Rip. He was, shall we say, a rather gregarious individual. If he was around it was difficult to not be aware. Rip could be somewhat, ummm, boisterous at times. We would sometimes (actually, usually) tell restaurant servers that we had just checked him out of the institution for the weekend. Of course, it helped that Rip looked and played the part well. Rip loved lighthouses, Harbour Lights and the real thing, and traveled with me many times visiting them. Rip was very generous, donating to many lighthouse preservation projects as well as helping when he could. He and Sharon even made the trip from Florida up to Michigan City to work at the lighthouse with his fellow Hoosier Lighthousing Club members on several occassions.

Rip was a retired Navy Chief Corpsman (27 years) and worked another 25 years serving his fellow vets working at the VA hospital in Tampa.

Rip will be missed. Fair Winds and Folowing Seas my friend.

Rip's obituary