LeGrande Kelly Skipper

LeGrande Kelly Skipper was born March 28, 1939, and he died at age 79 on October 31, 2018. Only now do we know with certainty that Kelly Skipper’s annual threat to take himself and his beloved wife, Dawn, to Hawaii for Christmas instead of spending it with “you folks” was one more little piece of his characteristic gruff and bluster. As such, he was the devoted son of The Family Matriarch Mary Virginia Kelly Skipper and his father Dozier Tripp Skipper, both of whom predeceased him. We always knew the meaning of “the look” given before Uncle Kelly retired to the den to watch golf, the Dallas Cowboys, or round-and-round-and- round auto races on TV accompanied by his inimitable lap dog, Lucy. There was some discussion about whether or not he was actually napping, or watching, but either way we all knew it would have been foolhardy to disturb him while he was having some alone time with Lucy and the TV. Kelly married Cheryl Dawn in 1974, and they remained married for the next 44 years, residing in Houston and Dallas for career purposes. After they both retired, they moved to Lake Fork, Texas so Uncle Kelly could pursue one of his hobbies, fishing. He was a member of Emory United Methodist Church in that area where he was active as an usher. Some years after he had caught as many fish as he could, and Dawn had joined every group and club she could, they moved to Lufkin, Texas so they would be closer to family and so that Kelly could pursue his other favorite hobby, golf. He was a “scratch golfer” his whole life, even after shoulder surgery. After getting their fulfillment of life on the golf course in Lufkin, the Skippers decided to move home to the Longview area. Kelly enlisted in the Army after graduating from Longview High School, and he was stationed in Germany for the two years he was there. He served as Scout Master for the Boy Scout troop on the base in Germany. After his Army stint, he returned to Texas where he graduated with a degree in business from the University of North Texas in Denton before he began a long career as a salesman for Wolverine Tube, selling copper tubing to industrial concerns. He retired early from his successful career that saw him as the U. S. sales manager for Wolverine with his territory being the continental United States. Kelly was a hard worker who made friends easily, and he worked well with all types of people. He remained friends with some customers long after his retirement. As the reader may have guessed from the earlier mention of his dog, Lucy, Kelly was a huge fan of dogs. He was the caregiver over the years to several rescue dogs who were lucky enough to have Kelly as their servant. He is survived of course by his wife, Dawn, of Longview, Texas; his sister Caroline Skipper Hollins of Lake Charles, LA; his nieces, Virginia Webb (Patrick) of Lake Charles, LA and Julie Hickman (Brian) of Houston; his nephews, Kelly Hollins (Gwyn) of Decatur, GA and Jay Braswell of Houston; and numerous cousins. The family wishes to offer a special thanks to Jennifer Parnell Barker, and Susan Parnell Farmer, cousins who were attentive and helpful to Kelly and Dawn in his final years. A memorial service will be held at a later date. If anyone wishes to make donations in memory of Kelly, the family suggests The Humane Society of Dallas, 2719 Manor Way, Dallas, TX 75235; The First United Methodist Church, 400 N. Fredonia St., Longview, TX 75601; The First United Methodist Church, 456 N. Texas St., Emory, TX 75440; or the charity of their choice.

LeGrande Kelly Skipper

March 28, 1939 - October 31, 2018