Charles Willis Zipp

Family-Placed Obituary

Charles Willis Zipp Charles Willis Zipp, 75, of College Station, died Monday, at St. Joseph Manor after a long and valiant battle with Alzheimer's disease. A funeral service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Friday at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in College Station, with the Rev. Margaret Williams, rector, officiating. Burial will follow at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 13, in the United States Military Academy Cemetery, at West Point, N.Y. Born on Jan. 2, 1929, in Rockville Centre, Long Island, N.Y., Zipp retired from the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant Colonel on June 30, 1976, after 23 years active duty service. He received a Master s of Urban Planning from Texas A&M University, in May 1977, and was employed as a transportation planner by the Texas Transportation Institute from 1977 to 1985. Zipp entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in July 1949, after qualifying for a competitive appointment through the National Guard of Texas. He graduated from U.S.M.A. on June 2, 1953, was commissioned a second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and later the same day, was married to Margaret Ann Akers of Beaumont, in the Cadet Chapel at West Point. Zipp's initial Army assignment was as an infantry officer in the 371st Armored Infantry Battalion in Nuremberg, Germany. After transferring to armor branch, he was assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry from 1957 to 1959. He joined the 3rd ACR in Nuremberg and returned with them to Fort Knox, Ky., in 1957. In 1961, Zipp returned to Nuremberg, where he served with the 2nd Armored Cavalry. After a tour as an assistant professor of military science at Texas A&M from 1964 to 1967, Zipp received orders to Vietnam, where he was assigned to U.S. Army Vietnam headquarters. Returning to the United States, he attended the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va., and then served in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics in the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. In 1971, Zipp assumed command of the 2nd Battalion, 64th Armor, in Schweinfurt, Germany. He then returned to the 2nd Armored Cavalry in Nuremberg for a final tour of duty as regimental executive officer, lasting more than three years. Zipp was decorated with the U.S. Army Commendation Medal at the end of his first tour of duty with the 2nd Armored Cavalry. He received the Legion of Merit for his Vietnam service and the Meritorious Service Medal and a second award of the commendation medal during his service in the Pentagon. At his retirement ceremony in Vilseck, Germany, the 2nd Cav decorated him with his second Legion of Merit. A resident of College Station for more than 25 years, Zipp served as president of the College Station Noon Lions Club, Chairman of the Brazos County Red Cross, and Senior Warden of St. Thomas Episcopal Church. He and Margaret Ann traveled extensively, visiting each of the seven continents. Zipp is survived by his wife; three sons and daughters-in-law, Charles Albert Zipp and Raschell Smith Zipp of Fairmont, West Va., Frederick Stoll Zipp and Jodi Wellborn Zipp of Austin, and Robert von Weise Zipp and Frederika Leca Zipp of San Francisco; six grandchildren, Charles Marshall Zipp and Robert Akers Zipp, both of College Station, Emily Sara Zipp, Olivia Boston Wellborn, and Olin Guy Wellborn IV, all of Austin, and Alex von Kaskel Zipp of San Francisco. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to the Texas A&M Foundation for the LTC Charles W. Zipp, U.S.A. (Ret.), Corps Endowment, 401 George Bush Drive, College Station, TX 77840.