Joseph van Dell Tipton

Joseph van Dell “Joe” “Joe Dell” Tipton, 83, died Wednesday, March 11, 2015 in a local hospital. He was the son of the late Christopher “Lum” and Ruth Cartee Tipton of East Lake. He was preceded in death by an infant brother, Herbert Tipton and a niece, Laura Ellen Dunn. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Johnnie Carey Tipton; brother, Charles C. (Faith) Tipton of Las Vegas, Nevada; sister, Martha (Paul) Dunn of Knoxville and several cousins, nephews and nieces. He was retired from the Dupont Chattanooga plant with over 32 years of service and was also retired from Sears Service Center in Chattanooga after 13 ½ years of service. He was a U.S. Navy veteran having served in the Korean War with the Seventh Fleet as an Electronics Technician Seaman aboard the battleship USS Missouri. He was a member at large of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign War Post 14000. He was a past member of the Civil Defense Authority and served as an auxiliary policeman. A graduate of Chattanooga High School he was a former pre-engineering student at the University of Chattanooga where he was a member of the engineers club and a pledged member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. Funeral services will be held at 11:30 AM Saturday at the East Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, 404 South Moore Road with the Rev. Glenn C. Gamble officiating. Burial will be in Hamilton Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends from 5-7 PM Friday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Humane Educational Society, 212 N. Highland Park Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37404.