George Washington Tipton Sr.

His century: George’s family moved to Dallas in 1921. At age 11 George rode in a car with a Civil War veteran, landed at Love Field when it was, well, a grass field, and, at age 95, bought an iPod along with a terrific Bose stereo system. He lived a life that stretched from the Age of Lincoln to the Age of the Terabyte.

George attended Highland Park High School. On summer trips, the Tipton family traveled in an era of open cars, dirt roads, and frequent flat tires, using blankets and tents for hotels. In the 1920’s his family left the Texas heat and slept beside lakes in Colorado and Yosemite, not driving on pavement until they entered Los Angeles. A half century later, Dr. Tipton crossed the world - airborne at 35,000 feet, waking up in such far off locales as Hong Kong, Zermatt, or Zurich. He danced to the live music of Lawrence Welk, Ozzie Nelson and Benny Goodman.

Dr. Tipton graduated from both the University of Texas in Austin and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

In 1941 he fell in love with the vivacious Olive Ann Tipton. Although she wasn’t ready to marry him the first 3 times he asked for her hand early on in their relationship, when she proposed to him following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he immediately accepted. They eloped 4 days later in the middle of an Abilene thunderstorm, just the tip of the storm that had engulfed the world in war. At that time Dr. Tipton was already an Army surgeon, who ultimately served 5 years of active duty in the United States Army, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Dr. Tipton participated in the first Allied invasion against the Germans in North Africa. He was at Kasserine Pass. He was in the tent when General George Patton slapped a malaria-ridden soldier in Sicily. Among his wartime photos are pictures of Bob Hope and Frances Langford entertaining troops one emotional afternoon on a beach in Sicily. Little did the GIs know they’d still have 3 years of violence to survive.

In April 1943, the Allied Army landed on Anzio Beachhead in Italy. This was the second phase of their invasion of mainland Europe, six months prior to the more famous D-Day. Anzio was a valiant attempt to surround the German Army in Italy and to liberate Rome. It initially failed due to the German Wehrmacht’s ability to rapidly counterattack, surround the Allies and trap them against the sea. Dr. Tipton and the 15th Evacuation Hospital operated in a perilous position, caught between Allied soldiers on the beach and the Germans in the nearby hills. They performed difficult lifesaving operations despite constant barrages of artillery, shell fragments, and bombs. In the surgical tents, nurses, doctors and orderlies refused to wear helmets since their patients could not wear protective gear. They never knew if one of the incoming blasts would have their name on it. As the Allies advanced, pushing the Germans northward, Dr. Tipton was in charge of scouting out new hospital sites as they followed the army. In the winter of 1944, Dr. Tipton was at the triage unit where a lieutenant named Bob Dole, later U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate, was one of numerous casualties who came in daily. Dr. Tipton treated Americans, British, Italians, Germans, Africans, Aussies and civilians. He was awarded 7 combat campaign stars and the Bronze Star for meritorious action in Italy near Anzio.

After World War II, Dr. Tipton returned stateside, organizing triage and treatment of the massive amount of wounded in the Texas City disaster of 1946. In 1961 he was in charge of the Travis County refugee relief program during Hurricane Carla. Dr. Tipton worked to build Mansfield Dam and the new Seton Medical Center.

Dr. Tipton and the physicians of his time served the Austin community in countless ways. They took call at Brackenridge Hospital for an entire month at a time, serving at no charge to care for those who could not pay.

In 1950 Dr. Tipton created the Tissue Audit Committee at Brackenridge, heading a group of peers to review the conduct of physicians and the quality of patient care. The committee, including Doctors Sam Swearingen, Mac McCauley and Sam Wilborn, became the conscience of the community. In 1952 Dr. Tipton published what may be the first account of peer review in the United States in the Bulletin of American College of Surgeons. Peer reviews are now universal.

Once, at a medical meeting, Dr. Tipton looked around the room and thought to himself: “I wonder how many lives this group of doctors saved?” No doubt thousands. There were two physicians sitting side by side having dinner. One had recently saved the life of the other!

For Dr. Tipton, service and hard work came naturally. He even wrote obituaries for several Austin physicians who passed before him, to make sure any expression of condolence was in proportion to the contributions they had made.

This is being written with love, pride and in celebration of a life lived under the radar of celebrity, as an example of a life not uncommon on these pages, but perhaps uncommonly expressed – to add a sense of history and humanity for an uncommonly wonderful man. Our father was not defined by what he asked of life. He was defined by what life asked of him. He had a deep reverence for the practice of medicine, his instructors and peers, his military service, his commanders, fellow physicians, orderlies nurses and soldiers, community service, his adored wife and his children, in whom he instilled his ideals. The institutions that defined his life remain worthy and inspire the respect for and sense of service we should all emulate. He also taught us to explore the world and to listen to everyone’s individual story along the way.

Dr. Tipton had been a member of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd since relocating to Austin in 1948. He was past president of the Travis County Medical Society, former chief of surgery at Seton and Brackenridge Hospitals and former chief of staff at Brackenridge Hospital. Dr. Tipton served as president of the Travis County Medical Society Blood Bank. A member of the Executive Board of the American Red Cross Central Texas Chapter for 15 years, George served on its Executive Committee for 5 years and as a vice president for 2 years. He belonged to the American Board of Surgery as a Diplomat, the American College of Surgeons and the American Medical Association. Dr. Tipton was an active affiliate of the Texas Surgical Society for 25 years and served as president of the Singleton Surgical Society of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston for 2 years. Further, Dr. Tipton was the originator and chairman of the Travis County Disaster Medical Committee, as well as of the Travis County Civil Defense Medical Committee. He had enjoyed the fellowship of the Journal Club in Austin since 1949. In his later years, George achieved popularity as a speaker and author regarding his surgical experiences in World War II.

Family and friends deeply valued George’s wisdom, conscientiousness, maturity, sense of duty, humor and gift of storytelling. He was always ready to share a tale from his worldwide travels, especially those to Switzerland and Italy. George’s devotion to family, patients, and community service was never-ending.

Picture him as we do: dancing with our mother on the Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest to the strains of “I Will Wait for You,” ascending cable cars to the Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix and Helbronner in the French Alps, driving his Porsche down the autobahn and catching the alpenglow over the Matterhorn.

Dr. Tipton is survived by his daughter Ellen Tipton, son George “Buddy” W. Tipton, Jr., daughter-in-law Brenda, grandchildren, Ben, Michael, Bonnie (husband Ryan and daughter, Nora), Jennifer, Thomas and George, great grandson, Jackson, nephew Rob Westerburg (wife Linda and their children), niece Jeannie Westerburg, nephew Billy Tipton and niece, Diane Adler (husband Steve Adler, Mayor of Austin) and their families. Dr. Tipton’s beloved wife, Olive, predeceased him after more than 60 years of a most ideal marriage. She was the light of his life. Dr. Tipton was also preceded in death by his parents, Thomas Lafayette Tipton and Joe Celia Tipton (who died one month short of her 101st birthday), as well as his brothers, Tom and Bill, and nephew Randy West.

He spent his final years at Senior Oasis under the care of Doctor Luan Tran and her loving staff of caregivers.

According to George’s wishes, the burial service will be for his immediate family.