Grace Lucille Lippert

Grace Lucille (Winge) Lippert died on March 13, 2018 at St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck, North Dakota surrounded by her loving family.   A Memorial Service will be held at Epiphany Lutheran Church, 314 Vallette, Elmhurst, IL on Saturday, April 28, 2018 at 11:00 am.Services will be held at 2:00 pm Saturday, March 17, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 3rd St & Avenue A., Bismarck, with Rev. Steve Sathre and Rev. Lisa Ahlness officiating. Visitation will be held from 9:00 am – 8:00 pm Friday, March 16, at Eastgate Funeral Service, 2302 East Divide Ave., Bismarck, where a prayer service will begin at 7:00 pm. Burial will be held in the spring at Highland Home Cemetery, Jamestown. Grace was born on April 15, 1932, at Trinity Hospital in Minot, ND, the fourth child of Albert Nicolai and Mabel Caroline (Gregerson) Winge.  She grew up on the farm that was homesteaded by her father in 1913 in Van Hook, ND, where she did her fair share of chores in the barn with her father and chores in the house with her mother.  She attended Van Hook Public School and graduated in 1950. During the winter months she was transported to school by horse and sleigh with her father at the reins, keeping her feet warm with bricks taken from the cookstove.   She enjoyed Glee Club during her school years.  After graduating from high school she entered the school of nursing at Trinity Hospital in Minot.  She worked for a short period of time in the hospital in Rugby, ND. In the fall of 1951 she entered Minot State Teachers College, now known as Minot State University, where she studied to become an elementary school teacher.  On July 29, 1953, she graduated with her standard diploma in elementary education. 1953 was a very significant year for the entire Winge family as their farm was taken by right of eminent domain to accommodate Lake Sakakawea, the lake that would be formed by the building of the Garrison Dam on the Missouri River.  The family moved to a farm in Litchville, ND, where Grace taught 3rd and 4th grade in the Litchville Public School for two years, 1953 – 1954 and 1954 – 1955.  After two years in Litchville she accepted an offer to teach 3rd grade at Washington School in Fargo, ND, which involved a significant pay increase, from $2,500 per year in Litchville to $4,300 per year in Fargo.  She taught in Fargo for three school years, 1955-1956, 1956-1957 and 1957-1958. During her years in Fargo she shared an apartment with her younger brother Royce who was studying at North Dakota State University, watching out for him as a big sister often would.  She enjoyed her time teaching, guiding children and developing their minds. She also enjoyed the colleagues with whom she worked. While in Fargo she experienced more life changing events.  Her mother died very suddenly of a massive cerebral hemorrhage on July 18, 1956. Grace also met the man who would become her husband, Wilbur Eugene Lippert. He was a student at North Dakota Agricultural College, now North Dakota State University.  He graduated in 1957, they got engaged and he accepted a job offer in Chicago, Illinois. Grace, always being the cautious one, suggested he try the job for a year before they got married. Grace continued to teach in Fargo and Wilbur began his career in Chicago.  On a very hot June 28, 1958, Grace and Wilbur were married at First Lutheran Church in Litchville, ND. Wilbur and Grace honeymooned in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, before establishing their home in Elmhurst, IL, where Grace taught reading to students in elementary schools in Lombard, Illinois during the 1958-1959 school year.  She then switched careers, becoming a mother to Muriel Jean on February 10, 1960, and Nancy Ann on July 31, 1962. She loved being a mother and was a very loving and devoted mother, always cheering on her girls. The Lippert family became lifelong fans of Roberto’s Pizza in Elmhurst, IL, as a result of Grace’s work as a cashier at Roberto’s from 1963 – 1967. Grace returned to her first love, medicine, and began a 30-year career when she started working as an aide in the surgery department at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital in Elmhurst, IL, in 1967.  In 1970 she completed classes and passed her national certification exam to be a Certified Surgical Technologist. As she studied, her children also learned many medical terms. In 1990, she completed certification in Sterile Processing and helped set up the new Sterile Processing unit at the hospital.  She moved to the Endoscopy Unit in 1992 from which she retired in 1997 completing 30 years of service. As the years went on she welcomed 5 grandchildren with great joy and spent much time with them after retirement.  Whether visiting Emma and Eric in North Dakota or Lauren, Alex and Maureen in Florida or them visiting she and Grandpa in Elmhurst, every moment spent with them was a treasure to her. She was delighted to become a great-grandmother on May 8, 2017. In the late 1990s they were able to purchase a second home in Palm Coast, FL, and have enjoyed spending time there in the winter, being close to Nancy and her family and making new friends.  Grace frequently checked on her neighbors at Kings Colony, whether she was in Florida or back in Elmhurst. They considered her a blessing. Grace and Wilbur have both been grounded in their faith in God, being active members of Epiphany Evangelical Lutheran Church in Elmhurst, IL their entire married life.  They both have a deep sense of call to serve others. They have often welcomed others to live in their home with them and have worked for the benefit of others in many and various ways their whole lives.  Whether it be driving someone to a dentist appointment or the grocery store or serving up some coffee and cookies or banana bread along with a listening ear, they have both always had a heart that cares about others.  Jesus said “I came not to be served, but to serve” and they have followed Jesus’ example. Grace is survived by her loving husband of almost 60 years,  Wilbur Lippert; two daughters and their families, The Rev. Muriel J. Lippert of Williston, ND, and her children, Emma Bernice (Michael) Berg of Wilton, ND, and Eric Paul Schauer of Fayetteville, Arkansas;  Nancy (John) Walsh and their children, Lauren Aileen (Byron) Lewis of West Melbourne, FL, Alexander James Walsh & Fiancée Christine Ghlain of Atlanta, GA, Maureen Grace Walsh of Palm Coast, FL; and one great-granddaughter, Harper Aileen Lewis; two brothers,  Ralph (Jane) Winge of Valley City, ND, and Royce Winge of Ames, IA; nephews,  Vernon Winge, Alan Winge; and nieces, Carol Winge, Joyce Winge, Julia Winge. She was preceded in death by her parents; her father and mother-in-law, Dick and Emma Lippert; her brother, Dr. Herbert C. Winge; her sister, Lois Winge; her brother and sister-in-law, Jim and Bernice Lippert; and sisters-in-law, Alice Winge and Jeanette Winge.