Albertine P. Shipman

"Alby" Shipman was born December 16, 1921 to Charles Levi Palmer and Edith Collins Palmer in Marion, Indiana. She grew up in Indianapolis. She worked 25 years for the Kansas City, Missouri election Board retiring at the age of 92 in 2014.

Alby was preceded in death by her husband, Ernest H. Shipman. She is survived by her five children Suzan A. Boyd of Kansas City; Ernest H. Shipman II (wife Cheryl) of Kansas City; Charles A. Shipman (wife Kimberley) of Bartlesville, Oklahoma; Edgar A. Shipman (wife Joan) of Kansas City; and William C. Shipman of Kansas City; 16 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and 3 great-great-grandchildren.

As a young girl and teenager, she would spend summers in Kansas City with her uncle Art. She attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri and met Ernie at a Methodist church social. Alby and Ernie were married March 20 ,1942.

During World War II, they moved to Ohio for a several years where Ernie worked as an engineer for North American Aviation in Dayton and for Grumman in Akron. They returned to Kansas City where he worked for the aviation division of General Motors at the BOP plant in Fairfax during the Korean War. It was during that time Ernie slowly began taking over the day to day operations of Shipman's Sewing Machine Shop located at 4741 Troost Avenue, the business his father had started in 1919. And Alby was there to help.

It was during this time period of the late 1940's and early 1950's that Alby learned how to sew, becoming a professional, expert seamstress. Over the years she made hundreds of cloth covered buttons, buckles, and belts for customers who made their own clothes. She also used industrial grade sewing machines to do decorative hemstitching on pillowcases, bed sheets, and tablecloths; and to make button holes for customer's garments. All of which is now a lost art. As Ernie said many times, "She could make a sewing machine sing." There were many a night in the old family house where she would have the large kitchen table full of patterns and cloth ready to be sewn. The clothing she made was better than store bought.

In the 1950's and 60's she volunteered her time to attend countless meetings of the Kansas City, Missouri School Board as a "parent member" of the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) monitoring what the school board was and was not doing in the local schools. She became President of the Greater Kansas City Area Council of the PTA in 1970. She was offered a position on the state board to serve in Jefferson City but declined to instead stay home with her family.

She was instrumental in maintaining "Mutual Help," a program where mothers of school age children from around Kansas City, Missouri volunteered their time and sewing skills once a week at the old Manual High School on Truman Road. The mothers would mend and sew clothing and coats to be distributed free of charge to school age children in need of decent clothing to go to school.

After all her children were out of school, she started a part-time job delivering flowers for a floral delivery service in Kansas City. As a result, she became known to a lot of the florists in town and later worked full-time for Bob Trapp in Westport, setting up large parties and wedding receptions. During that time she learned the art of floral arranging, a skill she enjoyed the remainder of her life. Over the years she delivered thousands of flowers to the sick and shut-ins, giving her great satisfaction knowing she brought a little happiness into the lives of strangers if but for a brief moment.

At the age of 68, when most people are retiring, she pursued yet another career path working at the Kansas City, Missouri Election Board. She eventually became the voice of the Election Board as their switch board operator. When citizens called she was the business-like friendly voice on the other end saying, "Kansas City Election Board, how may I direct your call?" She was hired at the election board because political party supervisors knew her personally from the years she volunteered as a poll worker beginning in the 1950's. She rarely missed the opportunity to hand out ballots to voters in her precinct.

She was a life-long member of the Order of Eastern Star, Swope Park Chapter #520. She earned her 70-year pin from the Eastern Star. She served several times as the chapter's Worthy Matron, the first time in 1954. She was the District Deputy Grand Matron of the State of Missouri in 1986; and served as Special Representative to Alberta, Canada.

Alby was a life-long member of the Second Presbyterian Church of Kansas City, Missouri. She had a deep abiding faith that Jesus Christ was Lord and her personal Savior. She looked forward to the day when she would finally go home to meet him. She got her chance on Monday February 10, 2020.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Swope Park Chapter #520-OES, in care of the Mt. Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home.

Services have been postponed until further notice.