Floyd Speakman Tippett Jr.

Floyd Speakman Tippett, Jr. was born on September 16, 1947 at St. Anthony Hospital, Oklahoma City, OK, to Floyd Speakman and Elsie Evelyn Tippett. Floyd passed from this earth on August 17, 2021 at 3:17pm to begin his new life with Jesus in the presence of our Heavenly Father. Floyd accepted Jesus Christ in 1982 and never had any doubts about where he would be spending eternity. He would not want anyone to be sad (only a little bit “maybe” because that means he touched your life), but to rejoice that his time has come, even though much too soon for his loved ones.

Floyd grew up in the Midwest City/ Choctaw area, graduating from Choctaw High School in 1965. Upon graduation, he entered the Air Force ROTC program at Oklahoma State University where he graduated with distinction in 1969 with a degree in Economics. In 1968, Floyd was awarded the Legion of Valor Bronze Cross for Achievement. In 1969 he was selected the outstanding ROTC Air Force Cadet in the nation which resulted in a spectacular trip to India to take part in the Republic Day Celebrations with two other selected cadets from the other branches of the military. They were honored at a luncheon where he sat and ate with Mrs. Gandhi. Floyd went on to Vance Air Force Base in Enid, OK for the undergraduate pilot training class of 70-08. Floyd flew the Lockheed C-141 Star lifter, a long-range strategic airlifter, designed for transporting large quantities of either cargo or passengers.

Floyd held various positions with the Air Force, with a remote tour in Cold Bay Alaska as Squadron Operations Officer and his final assignment at George AFB, California where he served as Operations Officer/Weapons Controller until 1977 when he made the decision to resign his regular commission from the Air Force. He was honorably discharged at the rank of Captain on August 1, 1977. He did so because he recognized that the military lifestyle was not conducive to his goal of meeting the wife of his dreams and beginning a family.

In February 1978, Floyd met Denise Mathews on a blind date arranged by his brother Keith. Six weeks later, Floyd proposed to Denise following a John Denver concert, and they were wed August 25, 1978. A couple of years later they decided to start their family. With much sadness they suffered two miscarriages and after extensive genetic testing were told Denise has two types of chromosome abnormalities and that if she were ever to carry a child to term, they would not want it. Well, Floyd and Denise refused to accept that diagnosis, and they turned their lives over to Jesus. They claimed Jeremiah 32:17 which says, “Ah Lord God, Behold, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth with Thy great power and Thine outstretched arms, NOTHING IS TOO DIFFICULT FOR THEE.” They claimed that scripture, knowing God meant that chromosome abnormalities are not a problem for Him. They fully trusted and believed in God’s promise to them, and Denise was healed. They were blessed with their first born, Matthew (“gift of God”) Shawn on February 17, 1983. On March 19, 1985 they were again immeasurably blessed with their daughter, Stefanie (“crowned”) Lynn.

When their kids were young, as a family they went camping a lot and were long-time season football ticket holders at Oklahoma State University. Floyd was an avid Cowboy fan. Matt and Stefanie followed their dad in graduating from OSU, Matt with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Stefanie became a family medicine physician. We never hesitate to thank God for the miracles of their birth. His children were his pride and joy, and he couldn’t have been any prouder of them. His eyes would light up and his “talking” hands went to moving with his unparalleled enthusiasm and love as he spoke of them.

Well things just kept getting better. Stefanie married the love of her life, Dustin Meredith in June 2006 and Matt married his, Alicia Tophoj in August 2006. In 2011 Floyd became “Pops” when our first grandchild, Everleigh Tippett was born. For three years in a row thereafter, we were blessed with grandchildren, Lynnlee Meredith in 2012; Bond Tippett in 2013; and Sydnee Meredith in 2014. We had to wait to wait three years before our 5th grandchild, Stone Meredith was born in 2017. They always had such fun with their Pops and delighted in “waking him up” from a lot of Pop’s naps and calling him Pops, Popsy, and Pop Corn.

All five grandchildren have their unique personalities and gifts from God and Pops recently said his main goal is to make sure they all know Jesus. Pops loved to watch Everleigh perform in plays, play soccer, and behold her latest artistic creations, whether it was her outstanding slime, watercolors, or pen/ink drawings. He loved to listen to Lynnlee read her Bible and recently they discussed their favorite Bible verses and they both agreed upon Psalm 23 – Pops marveled at her joy and creativity and sure enjoyed a lot of dance recitals and plays in which she excelled. Pops loved to build Legos with Bond and they spent countless hours seeing whose creation could outdo the other – Bond taught Pops a lot about Lego building and with an unbiased judge, Bond’s builds invariably won. Pops also loved working the chains at Bond’s football games. Sydnee and Pops shared a love for animals like no other. Neither met an animal that they didn’t fall in love with, and Pops beamed when he talked about Sydnee’s desire to become a veterinarian when she grows up. He was so proud of Sydnee’s performances in dance recitals, gymnastics/cheer, and a play. Stone and Pops spent countless hours playing dinosaurs and building with Duplo blocks. Stone taught Pops a lot about dinosaurs and Pops always marveled how Stone could know so much, let alone know all their names at such a young age. He made Pops laugh a lot. What a legacy Floyd has!

Floyd was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Denise; Son, Matthew and wife Alicia, grandchildren, Everleigh and Bond; daughter Stefanie Meredith and her husband Dustin, and grandchildren Lynnlee, Sydnee, and Stone. He is also survived by his mother-in-law, Wilma Mathews; brother, Keith Tippett and wife Jerry and their children, Chris and wife Sara (great nephew Sutton and niece Sophie), Amy Greenwood and her husband Lucas; and Greg Tippett (great nieces Cadence, Columbia and nephew Camon); sister Beverly Lowry and son Will; and brother Steve and his wife, Leslie and her children Amanda and Jennifer. He has numerous friends, prayer warriors, and military buddies.

May God continue to bless Floyd in his eternal life and give comfort and joy to those who miss him dearly.

A celebration of Floyd’s life will be held later for the immediate family.

In lieu of flowers or donations, please hug your family and friends more often and tell them how much you love them.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.chapelhill-okc.com for the TIPPETT family.