Frederick Julius Tips Jr.

TIPS
Frederick Julius Tips, Jr., 88, of San Antonio died peacefully at home surrounded by his family Saturday, December 3, 2011, from pneumonia after an extended illness. Born September 10, 1923, in San Antonio, he was the middle son of Frederick Julius Tips, Sr., and Margaret Chambers Tips. He was a great-great grandson of Julius Conrad Tips, who was born in Elberfeld, Germany, and emigrated to Texas in 1849 with close friend Eduard Steves and family aboard the ship Neptune, departing from Dusseldorf. After completing his education and serving as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, Mr. Tips entered his family business, Mission Park Funeral Chapels and Cemeteries, founded in 1907. He was a third-generation owner along with his older brother, Will Chambers Tips. Located south of downtown on the San Antonio River, their operation offered the first-in-the-nation funeral home/cemetery combination. While at Mission Park, Mr. Tips pioneered the custom fabrication of the six-door limousine and designed the first hydraulic cemetery carts. In recognition of his innovative leadership, he was elected president of the Texas Cemeteries Association, the Southern United States Cemeteries Association, and the National Association of Cemeteries. A founding member and Senior Warden of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, known as a "Cloverleafer," Mr. Tips was also active in numerous civic and social organizations including: the San Antonio Optimist Club; the San Antonio Executive Association, of which he was a 50-year member; the Merry Knights of King William, of which he was the 1994-95 president; the Town Club; the San Antonio Country Club; and the San Antonio Livestock Exposition, Inc., of which he was a founding member. An active participant in Fiesta, he was a member of the Order of the Alamo and a member and director of the Texas Cavaliers. He served the Cavaliers as parade marshal of the 1975 Fiesta River Parade, the theme of which was "Nostalgia, Those Were the Days." Always an innovator, he inaugurated a major change in the routing of the parade, which for the first time wound its way through the HemisFair river extension. In recognition of his Cavalier achievements, he was in the first class of inductees into the Royal Order of the Red Plume. He also participated in the Albert Pike Lodge No. 1169 AF & AM and later became a member of the Scottish Rite and York Rite of the Alzafar Shrine and a 33rd-degree Mason. Mr. Tips was preceded in death by his parents and his beloved wife of 58 years, Margaret Elizabeth Dixon Tips. He is survived by four children: Margaret Barcley Tips Houston of San Antonio; Elizabeth Ann Tips Thompson of Temple, Texas; Robert Dixon Tips and his wife, Kristin Deyon Tips, of San Antonio; and Frederick Julius Tips III and his wife, Lori Bennett Tips, of San Antonio. He leaves seven grandchildren: Barcley Houston of San Antonio; Bryan Houston of Nashville; Todd Wesley Thompson of Boston; Elizabeth Tips Thompson of Austin; and Frederick Julius Tips IV, Natalie Lauren Tips, and William Bennett Tips of San Antonio. He also leaves a step-granddaughter, Evangeline Marie Myers and her husband, Robert Lee Myers IV, of San Antonio. He is survived by his two brothers, Will Chambers Tips of San Antonio and Craig Adams Tips and his wife, Ruth Ann Tips, of Bandera, Texas, as well as a number of nieces and nephews including: Joan Frances Tips Thaggard and her husband, Alvin Thaggard III, M.D., of San Antonio; Jane Margaret Tips Rowe of San Antonio; John Craig Tips of Austin; and William Ratcliffe Tips of Bandera. The family wishes to extend their heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Christopher Leon Kopecky for his steadfast attention and professionalism as well as to the caregivers who made life easier for their loved one. Mr. Fred's sense of humor and great wisdom will be missed by his family, friends and his extended Mission Park family, who will miss his weekly visits to the funeral homes and cemeteries. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts be made to the St. Luke's Episcopal Memorial Fund, 11 St. Luke's Lane, San Antonio, Texas, 78209.
SERVICES
The family will receive friends beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, December 5, 2011, at Mission Park Funeral Chapels North on Cherry Ridge. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, December 6, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Luke's Episcopal Church. Pallbearers: Robert Reed Bentley, John Cochran, D.D.S., Robert Chalmer Dixon, Theodore Edward Eccles, Reagan Houston IV, James Alan Kent, Christopher Leon Kopecky, M.D., Richard Brennan Moore, Jr., Robert Lee Myers IV, Ralph Gordon Nelson, John Thomas Steen, Jr., Albert Steves V, Edward Galt Steves, Michael Wesley Thompson, Robert Foard Townsend III, Robert Clayton Vielock, Andrew Bradford West, and James Herschel West.