John Powell Lipscomb

John "Jack" P. Lipscomb, 85 of Brookeville, MD passed away peacefully on March 3, 2023, after a lengthy illness, surrounded by his family.

Jack was born in Pensacola, FL on February 6, 1938, to John Holt and Clelia Powell Lipscomb. He grew up in Pensacola with his two brothers Andrew "Andy" and Jerold "Jerry". Upon graduation from Pensacola High School in 1956, he studied at Tulane University, New Orleans, LA and completed his education at Jacksonville University, Jackson, FL, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics, magna cum laude, in 1963.

While completing his education, Jack married his high school love, Martha Meek in Pensacola, FL and they had two children Tara Lipscomb Loftus and John Blair Lipscomb.

Jack joined IBM in 1963 and spent 30 years with the company on various assignments including seven years in technical and management assignments with the manned space flight program at NASA, Huntsville, AL. Other management and technical assignments included the U.S. Army's SAFEGUARD ballistic missile defense system, the Veterans Administration in Chicago, IL, the Consumer Products Commission, Bethesda, MD, the U.S. Air Force's Global Positioning Satellite System, as well as assignments on classified defense contracts, Gaithersburg, MD.

Following his retirement from IBM in 1994 Jack continued working on classified contracts, first with the Loral Corporation and then with Lockheed Martin Corporation from which he retired in 1999. Never one to remain idle, Jack's love of books led him to work as a bookseller at Border's Books and Music for several years.

A lifetime Methodist Jack served as secretary and newsletter editor at Oakdale Emory UMC, Olney MD. He served for many years at St Paul's UMC, Kensington, MD in the Joyful Ringer bell ensemble, as a weekday office volunteer and as the church's historian and archivist until his illness prevented him from continuing to serve. At the time of his death, he was a member of St. Paul's Methodist Church.

Jack was an active supporter of the Earthwatch Institute joining six scientific expeditions between 1986 and 2002 - a mangrove eco system research project in Belize, a wetland preservation project in Majorca, Spain, a dinosaur dig in Montana, a beach erosion study in Cumberland Island, GA, a migratory and bird study in New Mexico and a manatee research project in Belize.

At an early age, Jack became interested in genealogy, an interest that remained with him throughout his lifetime He was a member of the Montgomery County Historical Society, the West Florida Genealogical Society and the Maryland Historical Society and had been working with his two brothers on the family's history. He was a life member of the Baltimore Washington Conference United Methodist Historical Society and served two years as its treasurer.

Above all, the greatest love in Jack's life was his family. He was a devoted husband, father, grand and great grandfather. One of Jack's greatest joys was spending time with his youngest great grandchildren, Kayden and Chase Ortiz, aged four and one, respectively.

Jack is survived by his loving wife, Martha, children Tara Lipscomb (John) Loftus, Woodbine, MD, Blair Lipscomb, Richmond, VA, three grandchildren, William Johns, Olney, MD. Ashley Loftus (Frankie) Ortiz, Silver Spring, MD, John Loftus, Gaithersburg, MD, three great grandchildren, Alexis Johns, Olney MD, Kayden Ortiz and Chase Ortiz, sisters-in-law, Marilynn Meek, New York, NY, Diane Turner Lipscomb, Raleigh, NC and Jane Kelso Lipscomb, Jasper, GA.

Memorial service will be held on April 15, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 10401 Armory Avenue, Kensington, MD.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Montgomery Hospice, https://montgomeryhospice.org; the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee https://www.elephants.com/ ; Children's National, https://childrensnational.org/giving