Sippy, Francis

Francis Sippy, a devoted and loving husband, father and brother, died Monday at the Hospice Care Center of Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Mary's Catholic Church of Iowa City, with the Rev. Ken Kuntz officiating. Burial will follow at St. Joseph's Cemetery. Friends may call from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Lensing Funeral Service of Iowa City, where a Rosary will be recited at 3 p.m.

Memorials may be directed to Iowa City Hospice and the Francis H. Sippy Memorial Fund.

On Saturday, Francis celebrated his 87th birthday with his twin brother, Kenneth, and family.

In September, Francis celebrated the 56th anniversary of his marriage to Rose Ann (Quinlan). The couple loved to travel, visiting Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Holland, New Zealand, Panama, Belize and cruising to Alaska and touring historic Civil War sites in the South. On their 30th wedding anniversary, Francis and Rose Ann had the honor of receiving Pope John Paul II's blessing on their marriage during a 1983 visit to Rome. Francis was on the property management committee at St. Mary's Catholic Church where he and his wife also served as Eucharistic Ministers.

Francis devoted his life to his large extended family, the Catholic Church, animals, nature and the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, where he taught in the Division of Dental Radiology.

Francis loved nature and the outdoors. He devoted 40 acres of his Oxford farm to a tree farm where he planted 15,000 native Iowa hardwood trees and was a member of the National Walnut Council. For 25 years, Francis and Rose Ann raised Angus cattle, working alongside their son, Burne and daughter, Patrice. He was also a member of the American Angus Association. As a young man Francis enjoyed horseback riding, and later in life could always be relied upon to sneak extra treats to family dogs and chase cats out of the house at any opportunity.

Francis Hewitt Sippy was born in LaGrange, Ill., on Oct. 24, 1922, one of twin sons of Dr. Burne Olin Sippy, a pioneering Chicago orthodontist who was a faculty member of the University of Illinois College of Dentistry, and May Dorthea Sippy (Driscoll). As a boy, Francis and his brother, Kenneth, spent summers visiting a family farm in Michigan where Francis discovered his love of farming and the natural world. He attended the University of Michigan and Seattle University. Following his father's path into teaching, Francis joined the faculty of the University of Iowa Division of Dental Radiology in 1961. He was appointed head of the Division of Dental Radiology in 1973. He served a term as president of the American Academy of Dental Radiology and co-authored two text books on dental radiography. He retired from the university in 1987.

Working both at the university and on the farm, Francis was never too busy to spend time with family and friends, always having a smile and a joke for any student, colleague, friend or neighbor who came by.

The family thanks Iowa City Hospice for the compassionate service of its nurses and staff.

Francis was preceded in death by his parents; brothers-in-law, Gerald Spratt and Jerry Quinlan; and nephews, Francis Joseph Sippy and Joe Quinlan.

Francis is survived by his wife, Rose Ann; son, Burne; daughter, Patrice and her husband, David Meade; brother, Kenneth and his wife, Kathleen (Quinlan) of North Liberty; brothers and sisters-in-law, Leonard and Eileen Grooms (Quinlan) of Akron, Colo., Larry and Jean Quinlan of Marengo, and Mary Quinlan of Oxford; and many beloved nieces, nephews and their families.

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