25 December, 2012
Paul M. Phipps, 91, a lifelong Hopkinton resident, died Sunday, December 23, 2012 after a period of declining health. He was the husband of Ruth (Berry) Phipps, to whom he was married for 69 years. He was the son of the late Arthur and Minnie (Metivier) Phipps.
He was a 1939 graduate of Hopkinton high school and a 1943 graduate of The College of the Holy Cross. He earned his masters degree from Babson Institute in 1948. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a first lieutenant from 1942 to 1947, was an Iwo Jima survivor, and retired as a captain. He was the founder and owner of Paul M. Phipps Insurance Agency, Inc. where he worked from 1950 until his retirement in 1995.
An avid sports advocate, Paul was an original organizer of Hopkinton Little League in 1954 and coached the Tigers in that league for 14 years. In 1996, he was inducted into the Hopkinton High School Athletic Hall of Fame, class of 1939, after earning 15 varsity letters in baseball, football and basketball. He was a member of Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton for 35 years, where he recorded his second hole-in-one at age 82. He served on its board of directors for 11 years and was tournament chairman for 10 years. He also served on the Boston Athletic Association’s Board of Governors for several years.
He was president of the Independent Insurance Agents of New England in 1975 and also served as its membership chairman and on its bylaws committee. He was president and director of the South Middlesex Agents Assoc. for several years. He also served as a corporate trustee on the investment committee of the Holliston/Hopkinton Savings Bank/Bank for Savings of Malden for 32 years.
Extremely active in Hopkinton, Paul founded and organized the Hopkinton Chamber of Commerce and served as its chairman for three years. In 1985, he was voted Hopkinton Man of the Year by that organization, for his lifelong support of community activities. He was a former commander of the Daniel L. McDonough American Legion Post #202 of Hopkinton and was organizer and chairman of H.I.P. (Hopkinton Interested People) for two years in the 1970’s. He was a charter member and president of the Hopkinton Boosters club, a charter member of the Hopkinton scholarship committee, and a member of the Hopkinton Education Foundation. He was also a charter member, president, and secretary for the Hopkinton Kiwanis Club, where he was a member for 25 years. He wrote weekly newsletters for that club for 10 years.
Paul served as local chairman for the American Cancer Society for five years, the March of Dimes for three years, the Heart Fund Community Fund for two years and on the Boy Scouts Fund Drive and Troop Committee for two years. Active in his church, he was a member of St. John’s parish, where he served on the finance committee for five years and was building fund campaign chairman during the planning of the new parish center.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his sons Robert and wife Nancy of Sutton and Richard of Levittown, NY. He also leaves six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his son Ronald, who died in 1974, his brothers Laurence and Kenneth Phipps and Bernard Cousins, and his sister Irene Macmillan.
The funeral will be held Saturday, December 29 at 9:00 a.m. from the Callanan Cronin Funeral Home, 34 Church Street, Hopkinton, MA A funeral Mass will follow at 10:00 a.m. in St. John the Evangelist Church. Burial with military honors will follow in Evergreen Cemetery. Calling hours at the funeral home are Friday, December 28 from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. Paul’s family will welcome the community to St. John’s parish hall following internment.
Donations may be made to the Michael Carter Lisnow Respite Center, 112 Main Street, Hopkinton, MA 01748.
