Philippine (Ochs) Shipman was born June 22, 1915, in Thompson, Nebraska, and passed away on July 16, 2019 in Englewood, CO. She was the third of six children born to Anton and Meta Ochs: Margaret, Madie, Philippine, Anton Jr., Philip and Katherine. The Ochs family was a hard working farm family that lived in central Nebraska. In 1931 they moved to the “Old Titus Place” north of Deertrail, Colorado, to raise pinto beans. On the move to Colorado Philippine (Phil) remembered seeing all the people walking west to get a better life. Her family left behind many of their German relatives in Nebraska. They continued their customs of making pickles and wine and canning various vegetables. All of the sisters were good cooks who made wonderful noodles and dumplings, pies and turkey dinners on holidays.
Four of the kids went to school in Deertrail and Phil finished High School there. Her youngest sister, Katherine, went on to become a nurse which was considered a great family achievement. Phil observed that they all grew up and went their separate directions but stayed close because what really mattered was what they meant to each other.
After finishing high school, Philippine went to Denver to work at many different jobs including working for rich Denverites. She and her sisters would tell interesting stories about the wealthy people that they worked for. During WWII she met Raleigh Shipman. After they were married they moved from camp to camp because Raleigh was a carpenter building houses, barracks and offices for the government. They were at Camp Crowder, MO; Buckley Field in Denver; Camp Pardo near Climax; Mountain Home, ID and Las Alamos, NM. While at the secret testing site, “The HiIl,” they got to meet many of the scientists who worked there. Their mailing address was Santa Fe. They couldn’t tell anyone where they were or what they did. After the war they moved to Lamar, CO to start a trucking company. Their boys, Richard and Ronald, were born there. Later the family moved to Englewood. Phil was a stay-at-home mom until the boys were in Junior High. She went to work at Englewood High School in Food Service and retired in 1980. She enjoyed many years of family get-togethers at holidays when the sisters would make fabulous meals for the whole clan. In between, Phil and Raleigh would go to the sisters to play canasta and pinochle.
In 1982, Raleigh passed away. Phil developed a very independent lifestyle at that point, learning to take care of many things for herself and still enjoyed her life and her family. Her independence ultimately allowed her to live by herself in her home until shortly after her 100th birthday.
In the 1970’s and 80’s she made trips to places such as Disneyland and Disney World with her family and the extended family, the Woods. Also, she made a trip to Germany with Rich and her sister Margaret, and a trip to New York to meet some of Rich’s friends from his time at Kodak in Rochester. She also traveled with Ron and Marilyn to the Pacific Northwest to see Seattle and Butchart Gardens in Victoria, Canada.
Phil and her sisters lived through the great transition times of the United States. They walked to school or rode a horse drawn wagon when they were kids, later experiencing cars, buses and trains, and finally, planes. They saw communication change from letters to hand crank phones through cell phones, from newspapers to radio and then TV. They lived through the Depression, wars and Denver’s boom and bust years. Phil never “officially” learned to drive a car or had a driver’s license but did drive on the open roads while the family lived for a short time in Andrews, TX. She and her sisters became bus lovers and rode all over Denver at the senior rate of 5 cents. Philippine was an Englewood resident for over 50 yrs. She was known for her out-going nature, positive attitude, mall walking records, and her independent nature. She was a great mom, always supportive and very smart in a practical way. She is survived by her sons Richard (Hedy) of Fort Collins; Ronald (Marilyn) of Aurora; grandson Michael (Jill) and great-grandchildren: Lily, Jacob, Amelia and Sam of Arvada, as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews across the country.
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