Joanne Marie Lippert

On May 26, 2019, our beloved Joanne Marie Lippert passed away surrounded by her seven grown children. She was born September 13, 1935, in New Ulm, MN, the second child of Victor and Matilda Bierbaum and younger sister to brother, Bill. She attended the town's public high school, participating in synchronized swimming and leading the marching band as head majorette. During her teenage years in the 1950s, her first job was working at "The Mug," a popular car hop.She went on to earn her nursing degree and worked as an operating room nurse at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, where she met Dr. Robert G. Lippert, a young neurosurgical resident. Joanne and Bob married on November 30, 1957,and moved to Fresno, CA when Dr. Lippert joined the neurosurgical team of Dr's. Pace and Zealer. She immediately became involved in numerous community-focused activities and remained extremely engaged with Fresno nonprofits until the end of her life. Joanne served as room mother and PTA president for her children's schools, and was always a known face on campus. She was a Brownie leader, carnival chair, field trip chaperone and active volunteer with her children's many events. Education was important to Joanne and she returned to college at Fresno State, earning both her BA in Social Science and MA in Public Health, and teaching classes at CSUF after graduating in 1978. She launched her own business, The Janotta Company, a public relations/fund-development business, and she worked on many local development campaigns including the launch of Fresno's Taste of the Town culinary event. Joanne successfully raised funds forexpansion campaigns of Valley PBS, Saint Agnes Medical Center, Fresno Art Museum, and San Joaquin Memorial High School. Joanne went back to school again in the 1980s, earning her license as a travel agent and becoming a partner with RosadeleTuschka by forming the Tuschka-Lippert Travel Agency. Her work focused on high-end retail travel for families, and of course, she and Bob explored the world together. Her deep Catholic faith was significant and manifested in donations to hundreds of worthy causes and through her own heartfelt service to others, especially those in marginalized circumstances. She collected clothes, eyeglasses, and used suitcases to assist those in need; she participated in international trips to provide solar cooking materials to those without electricity, medical supplies and services to those without care,and wheelchairs for the disabled; and locally, she volunteered time for local food banks and charity guilds. She served for two years on the Fresno Grand Jury and remained a member of the executive committee; she recently assisted with bringing a nonprofit group to Fresno in support of low-income women who need legal representation. Joanne's lifetime of diverse volunteer activities is highlighted by leadership roles with the Junior League of Fresno, Rotary Club of Fresno, Candlelight Guild, Saint Agnes Medical Auxiliary, and San Joaquin Memorial High School. Joanne also had a special fondness for the environment and for animals, donating to many organizations. Her home was never without a furry friend, or three. She was recipient of the Top Ten Professional Women and Business Award in 2006, and she received Fresno County Mother of the Year in 2014. She also remained active in her pursuit to learn and challenge others as a writer for Valley Voices, in The Fresno Bee. Joanne is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 45 years, Robert G. Lippert. She is survived by her seven children and their spouses: Robert and Carla Lippert; Rick and Sarah Lippert; Anne Marie and Tom Taylor; Seen and Fred Landman; John and Cathie Lippert; Patti and Michael Fennacy; and Stephen Lippert; 20 grandchildren; Robbie, Carolyn, Marilla, Anna, Katie, Matthew, Joanne, Jonathan, Jeffrey, Jordan, Jameson, Jarrett, Austin, Nathan, Luke, Cole, Quinn, Tessa, Christian, Shelby; and nine great-grandchildren, Charlotte, Teddy, Reagan, Madison, Taylor, Emmett, Ida, Blake, Caroline, with No.10 on the way in September. Joanne loved almost everything about life... except green beans! She loved playing tennis and snow skiing with family and friends, vacationing at Huntington Lake,and hosting Christmas Eve parties at her large home. She loved all types of family performances and recitals, graduations and award ceremonies, birthday parties and wedding showers. She loved her work at Altour Travel as an independent agent planning trips for clients. She enjoyed season tickets with the Fresno Philharmonic, and hardly ever missed her weekly Rotarians luncheon after lining up speakers for interesting discussions on national issues. Joanne was always in the middle of reading something! She enjoyed books, magazines, news stories, and issue-based articles which she often passed along to others. She loved intellectual debate, launching an Aware Group of senior women who gather monthly to learn about social shifts. And no surprise, she LOVED to travel. Every continent and nearly 48 countries, touring and cruising and trekking, as well as leading and guiding and planning amazing trips for clients and 'students" of the globe. But mostly, she loved spending time with her family, and we all deeply loved her as a passionate, intelligent, determined, playful mother and Nana. Joanne was most joyful when spending time with generations of Lippert relatives, hearing about their adventures and passing along her sage advice about life. A public viewing (4-6pm) and Rosary (6pm) are both scheduled for Friday, June 7 at Whitehurst Funeral Home (1525 E Saginaw Way). A Funeral Mass is planned at St. Paul Catholic Newman Center (1572 E. Barstow) on Saturday, June 8 at 11am. In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to Rotary Club of Fresno, Candlelight Guild, or the Valley Animal Shelter.