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Influential Folsom Leader Jack Kipp Dies


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#1 camay2327

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Posted 28 May 2006 - 11:25 AM

http://www.sacbee.co...-15074927c.html


Influential Folsom leader Jack Kipp dies
By Todd Milbourn -- Bee Staff Writer

Published 9:42 pm PDT Saturday, May 27, 2006

John E. "Jack" Kipp Jr., a political legend in Folsom, a city he served as mayor off and on for two decades, died Friday of natural causes at Mercy Hospital of Folsom. He was 85.

Kipp spent nearly his entire life in Folsom and participated in many of the city's major changes over the past half-century.

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"I think he's the father of Folsom, to be honest with you," said Orville Wegat, 84, a former publisher of the Folsom Telegraph and one of Kipp's close friends. "He helped get the water here, he helped get the college here, the hospital, the mall down on Sutter Street, light rail. Come to think of it, I think he's done more for Folsom than any single man before him and anybody since him."

Kipp's influence is visible throughout the city. The city's civic center is named after him, and a bronze relief portrait of his face adorns the foyer of City Hall, outside of which flags flew at half staff Saturday in his honor.

Perhaps Kipp's most significant legacy is Folsom's growth.

When he took office in the mid-1970s, Folsom was a quaint and historic town best known for its prison and rodeo. When he left office in 1994, it was a growing suburb and home to high-tech companies with a population that would soon surpass 50,000.

Kipp believed growth helped fuel the economy. In the late 1980s, he backed plans allowing Folsom to grow to nearly 70,000 people by 2010.

"He made the hard decisions," said Chuck Thurman, incoming president of the Folsom Rotary Club and Kipp's longtime friend. "And they were usually best for Folsom."

Not everyone always agreed.

His pro-growth policies drew critics who lamented the increasingly clogged roads and what they considered was the loss of small-town charm. Opponents also alleged that Kipp achieved some of his aims through backroom dealings, but those claims didn't stick.

In 1989, the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office closed an election-year investigation of Kipp and a no-growth advocate. The DA's office determined insufficient evidence existed to support allegations that Kipp persuaded the advocate to end efforts to qualify a no-growth initiative for the ballot in exchange for favorable zoning of the man's property.

A staunch conservative, Kipp didn't waffle in his opinions, according to people who knew him. Although he spent much of his career in public service, he maintained his philosophy on limited government.

"Remember," he told The Bee in 1995, "government is the enemy."

"He could be very opinionated and very outspoken," said Rosemary Younts, a Folsom woman who knew Kipp since she was a teenager and considered him a mentor. "But he always did it for the well-being of the community."

Kipp was born in 1920, a fourth-generation resident of Folsom. He was a mischievous youth - a self-described "heck-raiser" - who once plunked an elementary school principal in the head with an eraser and later was expelled from Folsom High School, according to a biography presented at a Folsom Rotary Club meeting in 2005.

He transferred to Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento and received a diploma in 1936. During World War II, he served stateside in the Army.

Kipp took over the family appliance shop in 1953 and helped found the Folsom Rotary Club chapter in 1954. Along the way, he married Rose Marie Kipp, and they had two children, Cookie and Michael.

Kipp considered himself a local history authority. He relished yarns from Folsom's early days about gold mining, drinking and bordellos. In his later years, he wrote a history column for the Telegraph and gave guided tours around the city.

As a father, Kipp was stern, but also thoughtful, generous and kind, said Cookie Kipp, 51, of Folsom.

"He definitely had some strong opinions," she said. "But he was really honest, a guy with a lot of integrity, and he instilled that in us."

Cookie Kipp spent much of Saturday fielding calls from community members who wanted to tell her how much her father had meant to them, too.

"It's like the end of an era," she said. "He's definitely going to be missed."
A VETERAN Whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount "up to and including their life". That is HONOR, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it. -Author unknown-

#2 Terry

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Posted 28 May 2006 - 01:38 PM

For those who never had the pleasure of meeting or knowing Jack, I can tell you he was quite a character and always had the interests of Folsom foremost in his mind and heart.

#3 camay2327

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Posted 28 May 2006 - 02:27 PM

http://www.folsom.ca.us/default.asp


City Flags at Half-Staff for Former Mayor Kipp
Former Folsom Mayor John “Jack” Kipp, Jr. passed away today. Born in 1920, Mr. Kipp served as Folsom’s mayor for 21 years. Mr. Kipp was a pioneer of Folsom’s growth, and is revered as a community founder and leader. City Hall flags have been lowered to half-staff in his honor and memory.
A VETERAN Whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount "up to and including their life". That is HONOR, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it. -Author unknown-

#4 camay2327

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Posted 30 May 2006 - 09:30 AM

Note: You can sign on to the below web site and view/sign the guest book.


http://www.legacy.co...rsonID=17895166

John Eugene "Jack" Kipp

KIPP, John Eugene ''Jack''
Born in Folsom Sept. 6, 1920 and passed away in Folsom May 26, 2006. Jack was a life long resident who loved the City of Folsom. Beloved husband of Rose Marie Kipp for 62 years. Beloved father of Michael Kipp and Cookie Kipp. Grandfather of John Kipp, Tosca Riley and Tony Galatti. Great-Grandfather of Nolan Kipp, Chandler and Lucas Riley. Friends are invited to attend visitation Tues. May 30, from 5 to 8 p.m., & Wed. May 31 from Noon to 5 p.m. both at MILLER FUNERAL HOME in Folsom, and a rosary Wed. May 31, 2006 at 7 p.m. and a Mass of Christian Burial Thurs. June 1, 2006 at 10 a.m. both at St. John's Catholic Church in Folsom. Private interment at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Sacramento. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Mercy Hospital of Folsom or the Folsom Historical Society.
Published in the Sacramento Bee from 5/28/2006 - 5/30/2006.
A VETERAN Whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount "up to and including their life". That is HONOR, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it. -Author unknown-

#5 john

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Posted 30 May 2006 - 10:39 AM

thanks Cal. His grandson Nolan lived next door for us when we moved to Folsom. Though I have never met him (Jack), I know he will be missed - he was definitely a piece of history.


#6 old soldier

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Posted 30 May 2006 - 01:05 PM

met him one time and he sure talked about Folsom and what a battle it was to have it grow the right way. looks like he lived a good life...would have been fun had he been able to share his vision with us on the forum.

#7 camay2327

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Posted 30 May 2006 - 01:21 PM

I talked to him once on the phone. We talked about old Folsom and places that I might go with my metal detector. I was going to take him out to breakfast some morning but I waited to long.


A VETERAN Whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount "up to and including their life". That is HONOR, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it. -Author unknown-

#8 camay2327

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Posted 31 May 2006 - 08:21 AM

http://www.folsomtelegraph.com/

Jack Kipp: 'The man who made a city'

By: Gloria Beverage
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 8:51 AM PDT

Jack Kipp, the man who built Folsom, died Friday at Mercy Hospital.

Kipp, 85, devoted his life to transforming a tiny Gold Rush era community into a prosperous city. For more than 30 years, Folsom's native son had a hand in developing the blueprint for the city's growth.

He was well known as an astute politician, who did not believe in keeping the city in debt. Through his years on the city's planning commission and city council, Kipp pushed to bring new businesses to the community. He believed the city's future was tied to its economic growth.

Born in Folsom in 1920, Kipp served on the city council for 24 years - 16 consecutive years after the city incorporated in 1946 and another eight years starting in 1986, including five terms as mayor.

"He was the consummate politician, a staunch conservative and Republican," said John Stroud, a long-time friend who lived next door to the Kipps. "But he was very friendly with key Democratic legislators that would do things for Folsom. Anybody who had anything to do with his city was OK."

In fact, Kipp rarely took "no" for an answer. "There were not too many things in Jack's book that could not be done," Stroud continued. "He loved Folsom. As I drive through the city, I can't really look at any landmarks in the community that don't have his hand on it."

Kipp was instrumental in a nearly endless list of civic projects, including the construction of Folsom's first hospital - Twin Lakes, which later became Mercy Hospital of Folsom.

He was largely responsible for bringing Folsom Lake College and the Folsom Premium Outlets to the city as well as convincing Gekkeikan to build a sake factory in Folsom.

During his term as mayor, a new community center, city hall and police station were built. The city's blueprint for growth, the General Plan, was drafted and growth stretching to Highway 50 was planned during Kipp's years in office.

In an interview with the Telegraph earlier this year, Kipp cited securing Folsom Lake water rights in 1962 and procuring money to finance an executive director position for the city's chamber of commerce as among his most memorable accomplishments.

At times a controversial figure in Folsom, Kipp was a staunch supporter of the city's independence. In 1972, he launched a campaign to defeat Sacramento County's attempts to annex the city.

Kipp also worked to preserve Folsom's history, particularly Sutter Street where his father and uncle operated a grocery store until 1952. After the family sold the business, Kipp opened a TV and appliance store. "It turned out to be one of the largest independent TV and appliances businesses in the north part of the state," Kipp would later recall.

"He would often volunteer his time on Sundays at the (Folsom History) museum - selling beer or helping with parking," recalled John Kemp, another longtime friend. "It wasn't because he was looking for votes. He did it because he wanted to give back to the city."

In an effort to help the historic district to flourish, Kipp created the Sutter Street "experience" with gas lit lampposts and historic granite markers. The Wells Fargo Assay building was reconstructed and became home to the Folsom History Museum under Kipp's guidance.

Kipp was the last active charter member of the Folsom Rotary Club, serving as president in 1974.

He was also past commander of the Lewis J. Blodgett Post 362 of the American Legion and was a member of the Folsom Elks, Moose Lodge and the Knights of Columbus.

Kipp was also proud of his years of service with Folsom's Volunteer Fire Department.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Marie; his son, Michael; his daughter, "Cookie;" three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

- Kris Keables and Raheem Hosseini contributed to this story.
A VETERAN Whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount "up to and including their life". That is HONOR, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it. -Author unknown-

#9 Kerri Howell

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Posted 31 May 2006 - 12:09 PM

For those who did not know Jack, you missed getting to know a great guy. For anybody who moved here after about 1958, we pretty much moved to the town that Jack built - not literally of course, but there is not a lot in Folsom that Jack did not have some role in - good or bad! He cared deeply about Folsom and I will miss those phone calls on Sundays when he would call to yell at me about whatever he was irritated about within the City limits. Jack was a treasue trove of historical information, and I encourage all of you to read the back issues of the Telegraph, where Jack wrote of Folsom's history (many tried to get him to write a book about it - he chose to use the Telegraph to tell his stories). Jack remained active and influential in Folsom right up to the end of his life. As anyone who did know him will tell you, he was quite a character, and he will be sorely missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family during their time of tremendous loss.

Kerri Howell

#10 econ101

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Posted 01 June 2006 - 06:42 PM

QUOTE(Kerri Howell @ May 31 2006, 01:09 PM) View Post

For those who did not know Jack, you missed getting to know a great guy. For anybody who moved here after about 1958, we pretty much moved to the town that Jack built - not literally of course, but there is not a lot in Folsom that Jack did not have some role in - good or bad! He cared deeply about Folsom and I will miss those phone calls on Sundays when he would call to yell at me about whatever he was irritated about within the City limits. Jack was a treasue trove of historical information, and I encourage all of you to read the back issues of the Telegraph, where Jack wrote of Folsom's history (many tried to get him to write a book about it - he chose to use the Telegraph to tell his stories). Jack remained active and influential in Folsom right up to the end of his life. As anyone who did know him will tell you, he was quite a character, and he will be sorely missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family during their time of tremendous loss.

Kerri Howell

flag.gif I agree completely with Kerri on this subject. I attended the funeral this morning and it was a fitting tribute to the man and his legacy. He will be very much missed but not forgotten. flag.gif

#11 Gina99

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Posted 01 June 2006 - 07:12 PM

QUOTE(econ101 @ Jun 1 2006, 07:42 PM) View Post

flag.gif I agree completely with Kerri on this subject. I attended the funeral this morning and it was a fitting tribute to the man and his legacy. He will be very much missed but not forgotten. flag.gif



How were the soloists and pianist? They are friends of mine.

#12 Kerri Howell

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Posted 02 June 2006 - 08:35 AM

The music, as well as everything else related to both the Mass and the reception at the Community center was excellent, and I think Jack would have approved.




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