Emily L. Pippin

EMILY L. PIPPIN, a long-time resident of Fort Wayne, met her Savior face to face in Heaven on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, in Huntersville, N.C. Her passions were Jesus, her family, music, genealogy research, flower gardening, and teaching and mentoring students. Friends and family alike will recall her gift of hospitality. She was proud of her Swedish and Czech heritage and authored six genealogy and family history books; she also wrote many life-story articles for magazines and anthologies. Born May 6, 1934, in Minnesota, she was a daughter of Russell V. and Emily Rose (Zbytovsky) Person. She began singing publicly at age six and pursued music as a performer, teacher, and director all her life. She and her sisters were part of the DC Recreation Association in the late 1940s and early 1950s, singing on military bases in the Washington, D.C., area. She earned a bachelor's degree in Music Education from King's College, Wilmington, Del., where she met her Godly and talented husband. The beautiful flower gardens in Emily's yard were enviable, but more important to her was the growth she fostered in her four children and her students in their Christian walk. When her children were young, she taught 4s and 5s Sunday school classes and led children's choirs in the church. Emily then earned a master's degree in Secondary Music at St. Francis College, Fort Wayne, and taught at Fort Wayne Christian and Blackhawk Christian Schools for 34 years, encouraging students to hone and use their God-given talents in the fine arts to glorify God. A woman of deep faith, she loved teaching the life of Christ to her seventh-grade Bible students and mentored many of them through their school years. With her husband, Dr. D. Leon Pippin, she directed and produced 21 musicals and multiple dramatic and music programs for churches, schools and communities. The Fort Wayne community was blessed by their many years of producing the drama portion of The Living Christmas Tree. When Emily retired from teaching, they moved to Florida, where they continued to use their talents in their church and on creative writing projects. Emily believed that music, the language of emotions, is one of the highest forms of praise to God. She infused her life of serving Jesus with creativity, excellence, and her full energies. Emily's final testimony: "I pray that the memory of my life will be that of one who walked with my Lord daily as I sought to work at whatever I did with 'all my heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since I know that I shall receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ I am serving.' " The memories she leaves as a wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, and friend will be cherished by all who were touched by her talents and her faith. She loved her family dearly and will be greatly missed by her four children, Jeanne, Don, Greg, and Brett; eight grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and her brother, Vernon Person. Memorial service is 11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 10, 2018, at Davis Seawinds Funeral Home, Melbourne, Fla. She will be buried beside her husband of 61 years (who died in 2017) in Florida Memorial Gardens, Rockledge, Fla. The family requests donations in her name to the theater department of Blackhawk Christian High School.