T. Edward Lippy

1929 - 2022

Loving you changed my life. It should come as no surprise that losing you has done the same. -Chloë Frayne

T. Edward (Ed) Lippy, born in 1929 to Ruth and Wallace Lippy, was raised on the family's dairy farm in Hampstead, Maryland, with his twin brother Joseph, younger brothers Wilson and Donald, and older sister, Betty. The brothers graduated from Hampstead High School, and all four attended the University of Maryland College of Agriculture. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1950, Ed returned to the Lippy farm. Joe and Wilson joined him soon after and the three brothers established a farming partnership. Ed married the love of his life, Marjorie Ann Klepper, in 1957, and for 10 years, he and his two brothers were able to live off their wives' salaries, putting the majority of farm revenue back into the business. The three brothers began acquiring other farms and started leasing land in 1955; the business was incorporated in 1965 as Lippy Brothers Inc. in order to allow their youngest brother, Donald, to become an equal partner. The company, now Lippy Brothers Farms, S.T., is a major agribusiness enterprise: With more than two dozen employees, it remains one of the largest farming operations in Maryland, farming corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, and green beans on approximately 10,000 acres in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Lippy family owns approximately 2,500 acres of that land, and leases the rest from 115 landowners across Carroll and Baltimore Counties, as well as in York County, Pennsylvania. The organization also operates Sunnyside Farms, an egg production facility with 400,000 laying hens in Westminster. In 1994, Lippy Brothers Inc. was invited by the Puerto Rican government to farm 800 acres of irrigated land on the island in an effort to produce alternative crops to sugarcane. For 10 years, the 800-acre farm, located in central southern Puerto Rico, was supervised by Ed, who experimented with a number of crops, ultimately cultivating field corn and sorghum as silage for local livestock. Ed and Marjorie also bought a residence on the island and formed close and enduring relationships with a number of farmers and their families. Ed Lippy was a Director of Hanover Foods Corp. from 1994 to 2021. He served as a Director of Baltimore Farm Credit Bank (later Agfirst Farm Credit Bank) for nearly 20 years, and was its Chairman from 1990 to 1992. He also served as a Director of the Farm Credit Council, Washington, D.C., from 1993 to 1997, and was Chairman of the Council for one term. Ed served as Chairman of Farmers & Merchants Bank in Fowblesburg, Maryland, for four years and was one of its Directors for 54 years. Ed also served on the board of the Maryland Agricultural Resource Council (MARC) from 2008 to 2014. In 1996, Ed received the Outstanding Alumnus Meritorious Service Award from the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Ed was also deeply involved with local community organizations: He was a Superintendent of the Wesley United Methodist Church Sunday School and a chairman of the Hampstead Rotary Club, which named him Outstanding Citizen of the Year in 1993. He was appointed to the Carroll County School Board in 1971, then was elected again in 1978 and 1984, becoming the longest-serving elected official in the state. Ed served as President or Vice President of the school board 10 times. Ed's magnanimity and concern for others was exemplified in this quote of his from a profile in a Farm Credit publication: "Everyone owes a debt to society that needs to be repaid. If you have the opportunity to serve and make something happen to the organizations that are important to you, then you have an obligation to do so and give something back." Ed Lippy's generosity was experienced most profoundly by his immediate family. He was a loving and devoted husband to his wife Marjorie (1929–2020); an exemplary father to Meg Galletti and Tod Lippy; an affectionate grandfather to Thomas Alexander Galletti, and a supportive, conscientious father-in-law to Peter Galletti and David Hariton. He is survived by his brother, Donald E. Lippy. His courage, kindness, and character will continue to serve as examples for his family and for all the people whose lives he touched over the course of his life. The family will receive friends and relatives at Eline Funeral Home, 934 S. Main St. Hampstead, MD 21074 on Sunday, December 11th from 2-4 & 6-8 pm for visitation. A future celebration of life service will be held at a later date. Memorial donations in Ed's memory may be made to Bridging Life Hospice Care: 292 Stoner Ave, Westminster, MD 21157 and or Johns Hopkins Covid-19 General Patient Care Fund: 750 East Pratt Street, Suite 1722, Baltimore, MD 21102.