Jack Thomas Nipper

Jack Thomas Nipper passed away on August 12, 2020 at the age of 96. The oldest of three children, Jack was born in Linden, Texas on September 15, 1923, gifted with a bright mind and skilled hands. As a young boy, he worked in a local radio repair shop during the Depression to earn money for the family, later becoming certified as a radio technician through a correspondence course at the age of 18. Subsequently, Raytheon recruited him to serve as a tester of newly developed radar units for PT boats stationed in the Pacific. In October 1943, at age 20, he volunteered for duty in the Army Air Corps. After basic training, he was assigned to a B-26 bomber crew and a B-25 weather reconnaissance crew, based at Will Rogers Field in Oklahoma.  He left military service as a Sergeant in 1946 and entered the University of Texas under the G.I. Bill. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering after just 3 ½ years.  While at U.T., Jack  met Laurie Belle Shepherd at Central Christian Church in Austin and they were married May 13, 1950.   

After a brief stint with IBM in New York, he and Laurie settled in Dallas, residing there most of their 68-year marriage before moving to Kyle in 2016. In the early 1950s, Jack worked for the Mobil Oil Corporation in Dallas, part of a team ushering in the use of computer technology, later in a variety of capacities, retiring in 1989 as Chief of Technical Systems for Mobil Exploration and Producing Services, Inc. (MEPSI).  Jack received his Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Southern Methodist University. He traveled extensively with Mobil and also with his wife Laurie after retirement. 

Jack is survived by three children, Laurie Martin (Luke), Donna Green (Ron) and Paul Thomas; seven grandchildren, Matt Green (Lawrie), Jenni Green, Meredith Mitchell (Pat), Natalie Nipper, John Martin, Abigail Martin Fox (Devin) and Neilson Thomas Nipper (Laura);  great grandchildren, Kayson Fox, Austin Fox, Caleb Green, Adeline Belle Fox.  He is preceded in death by  parents, Willie Lucille Griffin and Pleas Thomas Nipper, sister Mary Kathryn Addis and wife, Laurie Belle Nipper. 

Graveside services with military honors will be held on August 26, 2020, at 10:30 a.m. at Kyle Cemetery, 2601 Old Stagecoach Road. Following burial, a memorial service will be held at Legends Funeral Home, San Marcos, TX at 12:00 p.m.

Donations in Jack’s memory may be made to Oak Cliff Christian Church, 660 S Zang Blvd, Dallas, 75208 or a charity of your choice. 

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