John Dane Shipp

John Dane Shipp was born June 22, 1927, in the bedroom of the house his Grandpa Franklin Pierce Mitchell built. He died of complications of dementia March 1, 2022, just five-and-one third years short of his goal to reach 100. In his mind, he made 100.

Dane grew up poor during the Depression on the southwest outskirts of Chariton, Iowa, in the house where he was born. His mother, Vera Loleta “Leta” Mitchell, worked in the pants factory north of the square and for the city in the water department. His father, Louis Nathan “Bud” Shipp started in the coal mines around Tipperary and then worked in a poultry factory. The family planted a huge garden, raised animals and hunted squirrels and rabbits.

After graduating high school in May 1945, true to the characteristics of the Greatest
Generation, he joined the Navy at age 17. Basic training took place at Great Lakes Navy Base in Chicago. Then, he rode the train to Oakland where he was stationed at the naval base there until August 1946 – an Iowa boy who had never traveled out of the state. His superior told him his one job besides keeping the boilers operating was to keep him in hot coffee. He claims to never have left the base. Instead, he watched all the other guys’ valuables when they partied on Saturday nights.

He used the GI Bill to attend Cummings School of Art on Kingman Boulevard in Des Moines with his best friend Jack Threlkeld. His favorite subjects were birds. One of his paintings hangs at Pin Oak Marsh in Chariton.

Graduating in 1950 he took a series of jobs including unloading coal cars, mowing the Yocum family grounds with his dad and at Elgin’s Clothing Store. Like many an artist, he decided to get a real job and drew bridges, buildings and dam locks for Johnson Machine Works for 38 years.

Neighbor boy Laurie Adams introduced Dane to his “sister”, Pearl Naomi Bethel. Pearl, from Lamoni, Iowa, was staying with the Adams family for the summer as several of Laurie’s older sisters were her good friends. As Pearl walked into the post office one day, Laurie, with Dane, saw her and the three walked home together. Laurie made a bet with his older brother that Dane would not ask Pearl for a date, but he lost that $1 bet. Laurie would not talk to Pearl for two weeks. Dane and Pearl married September 1, 1957. Their daughter Leslie was born February 10, 1965. He wished for a girl. He got a tomboy.

To all of our surprise, he agreed to move to Grimes, Iowa, in 2010, so he and Pearl could pick up their only grandson from school and drive him to assorted activities.

Dane’s favorite activities included the following:

• Scouting for falcons and other birds of prey with Bob Elgin.
• Snowmobiling on a frozen Lake Red Haw, the state park his father helped build with
the CCC, and at Stephen’s State Park by Lucas, Iowa.
• Guns and World War II. He and his childhood friend Ted Hoskins could talk for hours.
Unfortunately, none of us knew what he was talking about most of the time until his
grandson Tate Larsen came along.
• Winning the state archery championship in 1955.
• Driving his mother to shop at Piper’s Grocery Store, Ben Franklin and Places on
Saturday morning. Dane was the quintessential mamma’s boy. He lived most of his
life two houses from the house where he was born.
• Helping his neighbors. He was especially fond of Floyd and Della Storm, Red and
Maxine Chronister and Ann Baxter and Dale. After his mother’s death, Ann became
his surrogate mother.
• Playing cards at Earl and Dorothy Threlkeld’s, parents of Jack, on Friday nights.
• Traveling, mostly out West, to see Jack and Ted.
• Painting. Way too much painting. The house, the deck, the lawn mower, the flag pole.
He did get to help paint Leslie’s house last fall with supervision.
• Arrrowhead hunting with Don Jessip.
• Eating Goodie Nut Bars, Piper’s English toffee, those horrible chocolate-covered
cherries, Big Macs and Pepsi.
• Running. He went through a running phase completing several 5Ks and a biking
phase completing numerous Chariton Classics with friend Marvin Lee.
• And walking. He walked to work. He walked at Red Haw and the forest areas. He
even would walk around the block at sunrise last fall with his walker from the VA
Hospital ignoring or not remembering pleas from his family to wait until Leslie came. A
life-long early bird, he had no time to wait on the perpetual night owl, Leslie.

He definitely was not one for sitting around. In the last weeks of his life, the memory care staff at Perry Lutheran in Perry, Iowa, said he wore them out as they watched him motor up and down the hall. A month before his death, he was plotting to escape with his roommate Leon Miller. A week before his death, he said he missed the birds in the back yard, “Wheel of Fortune”, his chair and RJ, one of many dogs. The Second Amendment and the flag were also dear to his heart.

Some would say he helped a little too much some time. Some would say he spouted his
opinions a little too often. They might be right.

His wife Pearl; daughter, Leslie Shipp; grandson, Tate; son-in-law, Randy Larsen; and several nieces and nephews survive. His parents; and a brother, Darvin Dow Shipp; and his in-laws, S.C and May Bethel preceded him in death.

And yes, Dad, we got the mail.

Condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com and memorials to Pin Oak Marsh in Chariton, Iowa.

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