Raymond Ronald Hilpipre, 86

(Formerly of Blue Earth) – Raymond Hilpipre, age 86, of Eatonton, Georgia and formerly Blue Earth passed away Monday, March 6, 2023 in Athens, Georgia. Funeral services were at 11 a.m., Saturday, March 11, at Faith Lutheran Church in Blue Earth, Rev. Brent Walker officiated. Visitation was one hour before the service at the church and burial, with military honors, was at Riverview Cemetery in Elmore.

Raymond Ronald Hilpipre was born on Oct. 29, 1936 in Pilot Grove Township in Faribault County, Minnesota to Henry and Emma (Mosier) Hilpipre. He was baptized along with all of his siblings on Jan. 4, 1957 by Rev. Aaron Link of Elmore United Methodist Church. Ray graduated from Elmore High School in 1954. Ray served in the US Army from December of 1959 to March of 1962.

Ray lived in Elmore, until he married Lorraine V. (Skogen, Childs), on Aug. 3, 1968, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Raymond was a mechanic for Green Giant. Ray was transferred along with his new family to Decatur, Georgia in April, 1969. Raymond and Lorraine bought property in Eatonton, Georgia when he retired from Green Giant. Ray and Lorraine enjoyed the remainder of their years in Eatonton in addition to spending six months every summer in Blue Earth, after purchasing a house in 2007.

Ray was a very talented man with his hands. He made dozens of benches for everyone out of old headboards. He enjoyed deer hunting and sharing those bounties with family and friends. Fishing was a passion he enjoyed and whenever he got a chance he would go to Chamberlain, South Dakota with family members and friends. Gardening was also an enjoyment and he shared his harvest with neighbors, friends and family. Ray’s memory will be cherished.

Raymond is survived by his five children, Tom (Kathi) Childs, of Fairmont; Sue (Mark) Hauskins, of Blue Earth; Becky (Terry) Markert, of Decatur, Georgia; Lori Stapp, of Eatonton, Georgia; Bill (Liz) Childs, of Candler, North Carolina; sisters, Phyllis Rohlin, of Spirit Lake, Iowa, JoAnn Smith, of Brooklyn Center, and Barbara (Lester) Wood, of Big Lake; 14 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Jean Hilpipre, of Blue Earth; special friend, Linda Powers, of Eatonton Georgia; along with many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.

He was proceeded in death by his wife, Lorraine in 2013; parents, Henry and Emma; daughter, Sheila (Childs) Ferguson; brothers, Donald and Harold, and brother-in-law, Roy Rohlin.