Obituary of Thomas LaVere Tippetts

So

Somewhere, on the other side of death, is a well-built man with strawberry hair, a distinguished brow and sturdy nose, handsome, sitting near a crackling fire with legs crossed, in his well worn cardigan, reading a book, content. There he waits beyond our present touch . . . for just a time.

Thomas LaVere Tippetts passed quietly from this world on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, while at home asleep in his bed, from an unknown heart condition. But Tom would not want us getting rosy about it, as he is not one to live or die easily. So, it should be said frankly: Tom’s unexpected departure leaves us deeply affected and heavy in grief. We long for so much more time.

Tom was born on December 30, 1977, to Pamela Budge and Thomas Howard Tippetts. Pam taught Tom the way of things; Tom Sr. taught him that to live long in the way of things was to find another way; and, from his four siblings, Tom learned there are at least as many wrong ways as right ones—a lesson sure to be confirmed by his three children. The Utah family home in Springville and then Mapleton was a school of devotion, improvisation, humility, and forgiveness; of finding abundance in scarcity and recognizing the grace in both; of the power of cheeriness, storytelling, humor, and song; and of the redemption that comes through embracing the misfit and brokenness in each other.  

As a youth, Tom flourished as a rebel and a friend. His self-creation as the anti-hero was pure art. This was strikingly balanced with Tom’s ability to engender deep respect and loyalty and to create lasting friendships, some enduring since childhood. Tom is not a friend you forget.  

Tom chose to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because it promised possibilities too tantalizing to let pass. The Yucatecos taught him to be calm and easy, while the mission work revealed to him more of his spiritual limitations. Tom returned with equal faith and doubts—earned with equal perseverance.  

Once home, Tom quickly reunited with Sarah Skousen. There are a few individuals that Tom has known who match his lust for experience. But of them all, Sarah is the most beautiful. They married in the Manti Temple on August 17, 2000. In Sarah, Tom found a partner for life’s expedition—one just as durable, creative, willful, and ambitious.  

All things in Tom’s life are destined for the trying fire. Such is his nature.  Tom’s religious faith has not endured in any orthodox form. Nor have some of his life’s aspirations. But his marriage to Sarah has endured, by each choosing the other at every pivotal point, notwithstanding anything else. They have become a living and giving thing, tested, rooting downward and thickening upward, a forever home. Their three children, Tess, Adelle, and William, dwell in this home with high belonging and at least some mild discomfort, just as Tom would have it. Then there are so many siblings, nieces, nephews, friends, cousins (etc.), who also inhabit their home at times, and sometimes for some time. All belong; and all receive patronage from the show-man and show-woman extraordinaire. One might say, even to Tom’s chagrin (yet without any guile whatsoever), that he and Sarah are growing a family well on its way to being together forever.  

Tom studied law at the University of Texas and then practiced corporate mergers and acquisitions at Haynes & Boone LLP for 18 years (an anomaly of longevity in today’s professional market). His innate erudition certainly made him a highly desirable lawyer. But equally important was the ability to build and lead a team and to earn everyone’s respect and trust, including his opponent’s. Tom did that. The rewards have been great—a long string of professional successes where others would have failed, but even better, the Boone of lasting friendships. In May of this year, Tom became a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. 

Tom’s virtues are hard-won: honesty, loyalty, discipline, generosity, and a hardy tolerance for suffering. His love reaches the hearts he targets. To be challenged by Tom is to be loved by Tom. He reads critically and widely; writes pointed prose; and is a savvy gardener and musicophile. He is unmatched in bestowing sticky nicknames—a token of his fondness. But above all, Tom reveals a foundation for redemption. His brokenness allows those around him to be broken and still matter greatly. His affinity for the prodigal, and his humor in the face of darkness, betray an inner sense that it is not that dark, really; in fact, might this be early dawn?  

Look for white shores and a swift sunrise, Tom. We are right behind you.

Tom is preceded in death by his father, Tom Sr.; and father-in-law, Don. Tom is survived by his wife, Sarah; their children, Tess, Adelle, and William; mother, Pam; mother-in-law, Sylvia; siblings, Joe (Cori), Heidi, Eva (Deven) and Holly (Devon); brothers-in-law, Grant (Keri), and Gerry (Michelle); sister-in-law, Dona (Scott); and many nieces, nephews, and four-legged companions.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 28, 2024, at 7:30pm on the Anschutz Family Sky Terrace at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science in Denver, Colorado. A second memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 13, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. at the Tippetts ancestral home at 95 N. 800 E. in Mapleton, Utah.

Remembrances can be made by patronizing your local bookstore, listening to a beloved deep cut, or putting your hands in the earth.