Paul R. Sipple

Paul Ray Sipple, of Smyrna, passed away peacefully at Delaware Hospice in Milford on May 2nd, 2025, at the age of 95.
Paul was born in 1930 in Felton, Delaware to his sharecropper parents Harry and Ruth (Wyatt) Sipple. He grew up with his now deceased siblings, Reynolds, Harry Jr, and Ruth Ann, on a hard scrapple farm near Killens Pond. Our family appreciated the stories of the hard work they endured and enjoyed hearing stories of their secondary income, moonshining.
After high school, Paul enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he served during the Korean War and along the way met his wife, Doris Nielsen. After the Navy, he was employed at the Dover Air Force Base for over 30 years, eventually becoming a supervisor for all transient maintenance aircraft. When he retired at the age of 55, the family had a standing joke that the air base would close with his departure. Paul enjoyed a fantastic retirement with Doris. They had a camper at Roaring Point Campground on the Nanticoke River and Chesapeake Bay where they enjoyed boating, fishing and crabbing for many years. After the Roaring Point days, they traveled in their pick-up camper out west, and up and down the east coast. They also surf-fished on the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean well into their 80s until their little Geo Tracker was ready to rust in half.
Paul was preceded in death by his daughter Paula in 1996, and son Roger in 2021. He is survived by his wife of 72 years, Doris, and son Barry (Anita Naylor), his grandchildren Chad Greener, Joshua Sipple (Ryann), Jacob Sipple, and Julia Sipple, and sisters-in-law Vicki Stoops and Ruth Scott, as well as nieces and nephews on both sides of the family. Paul was a good father and taught his children the value of hard work, how to change their oil, how to skin a rabbit, and how to throw a curve ball. The family would like to thank everyone who visited and brought food, especially niece Debbie Hogsten and husband J.D., Michelle Burris, Gene and Debbie Shaner, and their good neighbors John and Stephanie Greim.
The family would also like to thank the wonderful caregivers Rose Lovegrove, Debbie Nadel, Sherry Mace, and Maame Mary, and the caring people at Delaware Hospice.
A private celebration of life will be held at a future date.