Al Lipps was outgoing and energetic, and knew how to fix just about anything, said Sonia Lipps, his wife of nearly 50 years.
“He was a great mechanic,” she said. “He could fix anything, and he learned it all himself.”
Elbert “Al” Lipps, 72, of Valparaiso, died Nov. 7. He had been a crane operator with Metal Manufacturing in Hammond.
The couple met through church in Kentucky, and dated for four years before they were married. They were married in a home by the pastor, she said.
“We had our first date at the church,” she said. “Our lives, growing up, were so much alike.”
He was a member of Old Pathway Baptist Church, and the couple raised their family in the church, too, she said.
“He loved going to church,” she said.
He enjoyed visiting with friends and neighbors and working outside, she said.
He loved classic cars, and had owned everything from a 1957 Chevrolet to a 1929 Model A Ford, Sonia Lipps said.
“He always had some kind of old car he was working on,” she said. “He loved his old cars.”
Al Lipps loved children, and was especially close with his grandchildren. He loved to teach his grandsons how to mow and work on the tractor, she said.
“Every child who met him, loved him,” she said. “No matter where he was, there was a kid somewhere near him.”
Sonia Lipps said people admired her husband for his friendliness and upfront nature.
“He was a loveable person,” she said.
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