Larry Deleo Shippy | |
Wyoming State Representative
for Laramie County | |
In office 1993 – 1996 | |
Preceded by | At-large seat |
---|---|
Succeeded by | At-large seat |
Born | June 4, 1946 Burke, South Dakota |
Died | June 8, 2007 (aged 61) Cheyenne, Wyoming |
Resting place | Cremation |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Second wife, Kelly J. Shippy (married 1997-2007, his death) |
Children | From first marriage:
(1) Tonya Semmler |
Alma mater | Grace University |
Occupation | Real estate agent; businessman |
Religion | Christian |
Larry Deleo Shippy (June 4, 1946 – June 8, 2007) was a Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, having filled the District 8 seat in Laramie County, which includes part of Cheyenne, from 1993 to 1996. Shippy was known for his efforts to expand the privatizing of government services. He also headed the Indian Committee during the centennial year of the popular Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo from 1994 to 1996.
Background
Shippy was born to Orris D. and Ruby M. Shippy in Burke in rural Gregory County in southern South Dakota. He obtained a bachelor's degree in education from Grace University (then Grace College of the Bible) in Omaha, Nebraska. Grace University is non-denominational but of Mennonite heritage. Shippy moved to Cheyenne in 1969. He was a real estate agent for Grubb & Ellis, having previously owned and operated Burke Moving and Storage for twenty years.
At the time of his death, Shippy was the treasurer of the Cheyenne Board of Realtors and the federal coordinator for the Wyoming Association of Realtors as liaison to the office of Republican U.S. Senator Mike Enzi. Over the years, he was affiliated with Youth for Christ, the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary International, and the Wyoming Truckers Association.[1]
Shippy was "passionate about history and politics and enjoyed cooking, golfing, snowmobiling, and pheasant hunting in his spare time." He was also known for his sense of humor as a practical joker.[2]
Career
Kim Andereck, a colleague of Shippy's at Grubb & Ellis, described the retired lawmaker in an interview with The Wyoming Tribune Eagle as: just a sweet, godly man. He had a real passion for people. He just loved being in service to friends, clients and organizations within the community. ... I always found it interesting someone who had studied in the seminary would end up as a commercial real-estate broker. He had a love of the Lord and a passion for people, and I think it was a pretty good combination.[2]
Former state Representative John Hanes, who served with Shippy in the legislature in the 1990s, recalled Shippy as a person who was passionate about privatizing functions that government had usually performed but which could be handled by the private sector at cost savings. Shippy's sense of humor, Hanes said, often broke the ice during tense legislative deliberations.[2] Hanes was later elected to the Wyoming State Senate for District 5, which includes much of Cheyenne and some rural areas of Laramie County. Hanes was term-limited in 2006, and Shippy ran unsuccessfully for the right to succeed him.[2] In the campaign, Shippy attributed Wyoming's housing shortage to a lack of reasonably priced land that can be annexed and developed for low-cost housing, something he claimed that lawmakers can address with legislation. He spent less than $2,000 in the race. The Republican nomination and the general election victory went to Robert Fecht.
Death
Shippy died in a Cheyenne hospice. He was survived by his wife of nearly ten years, Kelly J. Shippy; their daughter, Madison Shippy; his daughter from a previous marriage, Tonya Semmler of Littleton, Colorado; his parents, from Winner, South Dakota; his siblings, Kyle Shippy and Shirley Shelbourn, both of Colome, South Dakota, and Wayne Shippy, Beverly Traver, and Keith Shippy, all of Tempe, Arizona, and four grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son from the first marriage, Lonnie Shippy. Services were held on June 13, 2007, at Frontier Park. Cremation was at Cheyenne Memorial Gardens.[1]
Shippy was the fourth former Cheyenne lawmaker to have died within a three-month period in 2007. Republican Harold Hellbaum and Joseph David Selby (1950-2007) and Democrat Edwin H. "Ed" Whitehead (1925-2007), both of Cheyenne, died on April 20 and May 20, respectively. Republican former Representative Robert Schliske, who served from 1971 to 1975, died on June 21. Republican U.S. Senator Craig L. Thomas of Casper died on June 4. And in September, former Republican state legislator Dean T. Prosser, a leader in environmental legislation from 1971 to 1983, died in Rhode Island, where he had retired.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Larry D. Shippy obituary. Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (June 11, 2007). Retrieved on September 14, 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Jennifer Frazer (June 13, 2007). Former legislator Larry Shippy, 61, dies. Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. Retrieved on September 14, 2019.