Stephanie Patricia Klipp

Stephanie Patricia Klipp was born on March 17th, 1987 in Waynesboro PA. From the earliest ages, she could be found outside climbing trees, running in the sunshine, and surrounded by pets of all types. She loved sports, especially softball, fishing with her dad, and spending time in nature.

Inspired by her Grammy, she decided to become a registered nurse. She graduated from Penn State College in 2013. She was initially attracted to the emergency department (she loved the energy, organized chaos, and unpredictability), but she felt called to become an addiction nurse. She was able to leverage her lived experience to connect deeply and authentically with others. She wanted to be the antidote to the stigma and harm she watched the health system propagate. She advocated both within and outside the healthcare system in a multitude of ways: serving on multiple boards, volunteering with local advocacy organizations, teaching her peers at professional conferences, and supporting the community at countless events. She was known for her passion for evidence-based care, her calm and competent manner, and her kindness to her co-workers and her patients.

She started working at UPMC in Pittsburgh in 2017. During her time there, she inspired countless trainees and colleagues as she role modelled how to treat patients with respect, kindness, and deep compassion. She used to say our most important role in the healthcare system was to provide love and hope to patients dealing with addiction even when they had run out of hope themselves. She will live on in the legacy of the providers she inspired, the trainees they will teach and the patients for whom they care.

As her career progressed, she moved from traditional clinical roles within the health system to public health nursing and harm reduction. She worked at Allegheny Health Network and Prevention Point Pittsburgh. When she moved from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia she embodied the harm reduction axiom and committed to meeting patients where they were. She practiced community outreach nursing, including wound care, in both mobile and fixed settings. Even when treating people on the street, she did so with great love, tenderness, and kindness. She was radical love—for her harm reduction was not a slogan (although she owned and adored many a harm reduction-inspired t-shirt and sticker), and it was not a passing fad or a way to get social media likes, but it was about transforming systems of care to be truly responsive to the needs of people. She worked with Courage Medicine, Unity Recovery, and Prevention Point Philadelphia. Her colleagues adored her both for her competence and for her compassion; for her sense of humor and the joy she embodied; and also for her fierce advocacy for what she thought was right.

She met her wife, Deanna, in Pittsburgh in 2017 and while they did not begin dating until 2019, they had a deep, instantaneous connection the moment they met. They fell in love caring for other people together. Their hearts and minds were deeply in sync. They completed each other’s sentences, often accidentally gave each other the same Christmas gifts, and thought of the same silly jokes. They often described themselves as soulmates. The depth of their love for one another was evident to all who knew them. They were transformed by loving and being loved by the other. They married on September 18, 2021 and just celebrated their third wedding anniversary. While Stephanie is no longer physically present, her soul remains forever tied and connected to her wife. In turn, Deanna will love Stephanie to her own dying breath and beyond. Stephanie will live through the life imagined and realized by her wife for their child.

Just after midnight on October 5th, Deanna and Stephanie’s son Elliott was born. He was the culmination of years of longing, planning, plotting, and loving by his two moms. He was deeply loved by his two moms since he was an embryo in a Petri dish. He was the rainbow baby that embodied their greatest hopes. Even en utero, he would move to get closer to Stephanie as she talked and kicked his feet when she blew him raspberries. She was joyful with anticipation of the birth of their son and imagining their lives together. She would have been the best boy mom. She wanted to teach him to fish (and was scoping out how early you can use a mommy baby fishing set), to hunt crawfish, build a fire, shoot a BB gun, ride a bike, build things with tools. She will live on in her love for her son and the loving and adventurous life he will lead.

While Stephanie suffered cardiac arrest on 9/30, she was able to hold on until her wife delivered their beautiful boy. On 10/7, Stephanie was able to meet her beloved son and he was held by his mama and mommy before she transitioned. Stephanie will continue to live on in the hopes and dreams of her wife and son and the lives of the people impacted by her organ donation.

She is survived by her wife, Deanna Wilson; her son Elliott; her parents Nancy Smith and Stephen Klipp, her siblings (Matt, Ryan, Khalid, and Tala); her stepmom Denise and stepsister Shelby, and several aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins, and a multitude of friends.

Please celebrate her life with a service on October 19th at 3 pm at Philadelphia Praise Center (formerly Trinity) at 2300 S 18th Street