James Wallace Hipp

COLUMBIA - James Wallace “Jimmy” Hipp, 55, of Columbia died Saturday, May 16, 2015, at Palmetto Health Baptist Hospital following a short illness, the final round in his nineteen-year grudge match with multiple sclerosis. It did not win. Born in Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1960 to Irby Shell Hipp, Jr. and Alicia Pursley Wallace Hipp, Jimmy attended Rock Hill schools and graduated from Northwestern High School in 1978. A member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, Jimmy graduated from Clemson University in 1982, having majored in many pursuits, some of them even scholarly. He then worked for several years at Catawba Lumber in Rock Hill before leaving to work at the World’s Fair in New Orleans in 1984. The love of literature and writing led him to graduate school at the University of South Carolina in Columbia where he earned a master’s degree in English in 1988. He worked as an editor and production manager for Bruccoli Clark Layman Publishers for seven years and then as a senior technical writer at Computer Sciences Corporation until he retired on disability in 2001. On an October weekend in 1983, Jimmy met Mary Clyde McCuiston from Decatur, Georgia, while she was visiting Rock Hill with a classmate from Agnes Scott College. Many phone calls, a few road trips, and less than three months later, Jimmy proposed to her on New Year’s Eve, giving her his copy of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The engagement ring could wait since he decided to marry her while watching George and Mary Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life. It has been. They married in June 1985 and built their life together in Columbia. Jimmy is survived by his wife, Mary, son Bennett of Atlanta, Georgia, and daughter Sarah, a rising senior at Ole Miss; mother, Alicia Hipp of Rock Hill, SC; brother Irby S. Hipp, III, and his wife Fran, of Irmo, SC; niece Lisa McNutt and her husband Terry of Memphis, TN; nephews John Hipp and his wife Lucy of Charlotte, NC, and Greg Hipp and his wife Jill of Chicago, IL; great nieces Brittany Lockwood and Erin Farrell of Memphis, TN; mother-in-law Mollie McCuiston of Columbia; Sam the cat and Taylor the granddog of the home. He was predeceased by his father Irby S. Hipp, Jr. Jimmy took on the challenges and cruel twists of multiple sclerosis with a sense of humor and stubborn resolve, never once asking “why me?” Jimmy has been blessed by the support of family and friends; doctors, nurses, and therapists; caregivers, neighbors, and church family. Jimmy’s care at home in the last few months was made possible by the generosity of many, the help of Belle Little, and the dedication of the good folks at Senior Matters, including caregivers Tiffany Clayton and Hernan Ramirez. Mary, Bennett, and Sarah especially wish to thank Dr. Ruben Mayer and his staff at Columbia Medical Group, the wonderful women of The Sigurd Center for Ortho and Neuro Rehab, our family on the Intermediate ICU at Palmetto Health Baptist, and the staff members of the ER and 8th Averyt there. The family will greet visitors at their home from 3:00 to 5:00 PM on Sunday, May 17. A celebration of Jimmy’s life will take place 11:00 a.m. Monday, May 18, 2015 at Shandon United Methodist Church. Donations in memory of Jimmy Hipp may be made to Shandon United Methodist Church, the ministry of Kids Alive Guatemala, Southern Poverty Law Center, National Multiple Sclerosis Society or to a charity of one’s choice.