God bless you Sis. Frances! What a tremendous example you and Bro. Joe have been through the years. You and all your family are in our hearts and prayers always.
L. Jeff Harris, Sr.

A great loss to a wonderful family and church. You are in our prayers.

On Sunday morning, March 25th, my beloved husband passed from this life to be with our Heavenly Father. Â He was truly the love of my life.

There never has been a more kind and loving husband than he was to me. Â He and I together were blessed with four lovely daughters who have been such a source of comfort and help to me in this time of sorrow.

After returning home from World War II, we settled down on Patterson Street for 65 years. Â We were truly blessed to have a lot of love pass through our little home. Â I am now residing in a lovely assisted living facility, which I feel is a great help to me. Â 

I pray that whatever time the Lord has left for me on this earth that I may continue to serve Him with all my heart. Â I am truly grateful for the outpouring of love that has been bestowed upon me by friends, family, and loved ones.

In Christian love,
Frances (Frank) Tripp

Joe Tripp, and Frances helped raise our children and family. We can never thank God enough for the example and legacy they set in and out of the church. Radnor Church and the Tripp family was "God sent" to our family in our life here on earth and will be loved for eternity. -The Holliday Family-  Tom,Amy,Israel,Paul,Nathan,Mary,and
Elizebeth Holliday

My Uncle Joe

The greatest man I have ever known

Joseph W. Tripp Jr. was no ordinary man.  To the casual observer, he would appear to be precisely that; ordinary.  Born in October of 1920, Uncle Joe was one of the special breed of selfless young men who went away in service of country in WWII.  As a Navy Seabee, he traveled building roads and repairing landing strips. Sometimes these air bases were on pieces of ground barely large enough to land a plane.  A task he was well suited for; a task most of us would deem impossible.

After the military, Uncle Joe then worked for L & N Railroad for 30 years as an electrician. Another task for which he was well suited.  Uncle Joe could fix anything.  I have never known anyone who could take something apart that he had no prior familiarity with, which had ceased to function, diagnose the problem, repair and improve the designed functionality, put it back together and it work better than it did before.

After Uncle Joe retired, he became an avid gardener.  He developed gardening techniques now deemed â€œcutting-edgeâ€.  His gardening concepts, often thought of as new approaches to producing food crops today, were run-of-the-mill for Joe Tripp.  He was growing vast amounts of produce from a few raised beds decades ago.  He utilized close-cropping, vertical-gardening and cold frame practices. Sustainability was always his rule-of-thumb; though he probably wouldn't have called it that.  He did it simply because it made sense to him; it would never have occurred to him to do otherwise.  He composted.  He captured, filtered and stored runoff water from his downspouts in a cleaned and re-purposed septic tank.  He utilized Israeli drip irrigation with solenoid controlsâ€¦I could expand the list nearly ad infinitum.

These are but a few of the things Uncle Joe did and could do, but it wasn't who or what he was.  He was a giver of himself.  He was a keen investorâ€¦ in the lives of others. He made everyone he touched feel special.  Everyone. Whatever qualities of character I might possess are simply the reflection of Joe Tripp.  It is not my intention to put him on a pedestal; he would not want that.  In my mind, he stands head and shoulders above any man I have ever known.  You see, I am one of the fortunate few; I got to grow up knowing, admiringâ€¦ adoring, my Uncle Joe.

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, my dad, like the rest of us, was not perfect. If you asked him a question, his first answer was always â€œnoâ€ or â€œnope.â€ Once he made up his mind to do something it was nigh unto impossible to stop him. However, he was without question the most loving man I have ever known. It was a genuine, without any strings kind of love that is so reminiscent of that love that God has for us. I knew there was nothing that he wouldn't do to help us. He once told me, and I quote, â€œYou're my daughter, you can do whatever you want to.â€ I'm sure he didn't mean this completely literally, but the idea was, I love you and would never deny you any good thing. His understanding of the child's mind was nothing short of brilliant, and he was able to deal with children in correcting them in a manner that was neither punitive nor condescending. Even when he punished me, I always knew that without a doubt he loved me. It always broke my heart when I knew I had let him down. He would almost always let me win when playing a game, which is something I was not even aware of until I got much older. He knew that children feel helpless at the very best and that letting them win bolstered their confidence in themselves â€“ brilliant! Dad had a great sense of humor and was always playing jokes on us kids. In fact, there are too many to even recount. But they were always good spirited jokes and we always wound up laughing with him and at ourselves for falling for it. He loved being with us and we loved being with him.

He has been with me in some of the darkest of my moments tenderly listening to me and then praying with me â€“ I will always have him to thank for pulling me up out of many a hole. He somehow understood my pain and never judged me for my faults, although he didn't hesitate to point out where he thought I was going wrong. I felt accepted by him in my entirety â€“ both for the good and the bad. God truly blessed me with a wonderful dad.


Diane (Tripp) Brush

Joe Tripp was more than just my father in law. 

He was a part of that greatest generation, who served his country during 
World War II. He went in to the Navy and became a member of the Ã¢â‚¬Å“Fighting Sea BeesÃ¢â‚¬Â Construction Battalion, seeing duty in the Pacific campaign. For that he has my undying gratitude as an American.

He was a husband and father whose devotion to his family could hardly be matched. For that I am inspired to be the best husband and father that I can be, although it is difficult to measure up to a man like Joe.

I married his daughter, Kathy, and we presented him with two grandsons. He always made me feel a part of the family and never hesitated to help us out when we needed it. If our car was not working, he would show up with a few tools and some bailing wire and within no time the car was running once again. Our fishing trips together were always enjoyable, even if we didn't catch a single fish. He was such a good fishin' buddy to trade tall tales with. Joe had a big smile and a booming laugh, which made you feel comfortable and warm. He even let me have his boat to use. For all of that I am glad to count him as a friend. 

When you put all of these things together he was so much more than my father in law. He was a hero, an inspiration in my own life, and someone you could always depend on to be there when you needed a friend. 

Joe, you have a heart of gold and a shining soul. Your journey takes you to a greater place now. Thank you so very much for having been a part of my life.

Bro. Joe was my "buddy".  He truly felt the weight of his sins, but was always genuinely glad to see everyone.  His hearty smile and vigorous handshake was truly welcoming.  A wonderful husband, father, and grandfather, he accepted me as one of his own.  As a shining testimony and encouragement of the work of grace in a man's life, he will be sorely missed.

A life well lived was Bro. Joe's.  He set a wonderful example in the church for us all.  We will miss him greatly.

Paw Paw was Eileen's grandfather, but he felt like mine too!  His legacy is best found in the sweet spirit and godly nature of those he left behind.   I will miss him until we meet again in glory.

Bro. Joe will be greatly missed by the Radnor Churh and those who love Radnor Church. I will never forget the kindness and hospitality he showed to me when I first visited Radnor Church. That was long before the Lord blessed the Church in their move to a better facilty. I will never forget the conversations we had about the doctrines of grace, for which he earnestly contended all these years. He was very strong physically and spiritually, yet when I preached, I would notice him wiping away tears (of joy). I am thankful for men like him that stand so strong for what is right and good! He was a treasure among men and I will look forward to hearing some of his "I told you so!"'s when I get to see him in glory! Amen. My prayers now are for his family. May the truths for which Bro. Joe stood serve to comfort your hearts in this time of sorrow and grief. Always remember that those who love Jesus NEVER meet for the last time!
L. Jeff Harris, Sr.

Bro. Joe was a prince of a man and a loyal and faithful servant of Jesus Christ. He will be greatly missed by us all.  I will be in prayer for the comfort of the family and his brothers and sisters in the church during this time of grief. I know you also have joy in knowing that Bro. Joe's spirit and soul are in paradise with Jesus at this very moment. You also have comfort in the knowledge of the glorious ressurrection of the body.   But, I know you will all miss this wonderful man who was such a blessing from God. Thank you Lord for touching Bro. Joe's life, and for touching so many others through his life.  May God bless you all.


Elder Darrel Chambers

It's hard to limit my comments on Bro. Joe. I can't remember not knowing him! When Tim and I were little he'd often take us to the railroad, Percy Priest, the park, his back yard . . .  I think he gave us out first ICEE and just had plain old fun.  We were also blessed to get to worship with him.  Over the years, I've gotten to roller skate with him, do roofing work with him and also have him supervise from the ground while Jimmy and I were up on the rooftop at the church.  I got to sing bass with him and learn from his ways and see how generous he was with what he had.  I stayed a many a night on the Tripp's couch in my single years.  He helped work on my house and has loved and played with our children.  What a wonderful example of a friend, Paw Paw, deacon, and church member he has been. He'll be greatly missed!

Bro Joe will live on in my heart and memory.  He was a great influence on me and a fine example of a Godly man.  My thoughts are with you all.

Bro. Gary Barrington
Big Spring, TX

When I think of Brother Joe, and I have thought of him often over the years, the thoughts have always been warm thoughts! He was a joy to be around. I remember many, many years ago, when our first-born, Hannah, was an infant, we visited Radnor. Brother Joe carried her about all afternoon in her little bunny suit. He loved children. May God bless each of the loved ones with great comfort, is my prayer.

OBITUARY

Joseph William Tripp Jr.

October 31, 1920 – March 25, 2012

Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home & Woodlawn Memorial Park

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