Dorothea Tipton

Dorothea "Thea" Sopigoti Tipton GOODE, Va. Dorothea "Thea" Sopigoti Tipton, 82, died Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, at the Summit. She was the wife of the late John Harold Tipton for 60 wonderful years. Born Jan. 19, 1927, in Radford, she was the daughter of the late Lazar Kazman Sopigoti and Helen Jolley Sopigoti. In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by one sister, Ruth S. Hamilton; and a special nephew, Michael K. Carmack. Thea received her BA from Lynchburg College and her Masters in Education from the University of Virginia. She was a retired school teacher with the Lynchburg Public School System with 40 years of dedicated service and a charter member of Forest Presbyterian Church. She is survived by her son, Harold L. Tipton and his wife Mary of Goode; one sister, Dolly Cartwright of Bristol Tennessee; two grandsons, Miles H. Tipton and his wife Jessica of Lynchburg and Tyler M. Tipton of Goode; and one great-granddaughter, Isabelle "Belle" Tipton. A funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, at Forest Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Morgan Whitfield officiating. Entombment will follow in the Virginia Memorial Park Mausoleum. The family will receive friends from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, at Whitten Timberlake Chapel and at other times at the residence of Harold and Mary Tipton. Those wishing to make memorial contributions are asked to consider Forest Presbyterian Church, Music Dept., P.O. Box 311, Forest, VA, 24551. To send a condolence to the family online, please visit www.whittenfuneralhome.com Whitten Funeral Homes & Cremation Services, Timberlake Chapel, is serving the Tipton family.