George Britt Tipton

Anne Tipton ( 21 Aug 1935 )sent to me the following story about her beloved father, George Britt Tipton (31 Mar 1897 - 28 Dec 1969). Anne is my cousin through her grandfather Dove William Tipton (11 Nov 1875 - 22 Jul 1951) who was the older brother of my grandfather Fieldon Jacob Tipton, Sr. (04 Jun 1884 - 08 May 1939). Anne lives in Kingsport, Virginia, near the mountains of the North Carolina where our grandparents raised their families. I came to know of Anne through my Tipton family research. I had made a call to her brother Boyd Tipton (31 Jan 1929) during one of my random Internet searches of Tipton names in the phone book of the area of the North Carolina and Tennessee border where my grandfather lived. Boyd was very helpful but did not have all of his family's history. He suggested that I call his sister Anne, who kept the family genealogy records. Lucky for me, I usually find one such dedicated individual when I research my family lines, both sides. Anne is a delightful woman and a great deal of help to me in updating her line of descent from our mutual great-grandfather Hiram Tipton (05 Mar 1852 - 1933). The following is a remembrance that she sent to me recently of her beloved father, George Britt Tipton:

December 28, 1969 was a cold, snowy Sunday when I had been visiting my parents, brothers, and sisters in Jonesboro, Tennessee for the Christmas Holidays. I was traveling with my oldest brother, Willie, and his family back to their home in Louisville, Kentucky. Gary, their son, and I were then going to travel back to Maryland where we both taught school. However, my stay in Louisville ended abruptly when Willie received a phone call that my father was in the hospital with his third heart attack. So, Willie and I started back early the next morning and were to be followed later in the day by Doris, Gary and Kathy. Willie was very quiet all the way back, until as we came closer to my parents house he said "Anne, they didn't tell me but I think our Dad has died." Well, that was a "shock" and as we neared the house, I could see a wreath hanging on the door. My father had survived two other heart attacks (one in his garden) but this was a fatal one. As he stood up from his chair where he had been reading the Sunday paper, he had fallen to the floor. During his last eleven months he had been a changed man. By that, I mean he had been much livelier and was full of plans to do things. Why? Because he bragged and liked to show his chest where he said he was the first person to ever have a pace-maker from the University of Tennessee They said he wouldn't live a year without it. I loved my Dad very, very much. He knew it!. . . . . . .to be continued...........................