LTC Samuel A. Shipman

LTC Samuel Arthur Shipman USA (Ret.) KNOXVILLE – Samuel A. Shipman, age 75, passed away on January 28, 2020. A native of Pecan Gap, Texas, his family moved to Watts Mill, SC where he graduated from Ford High School. In 1966, he graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (Go Tigers!). He completed a Master of Science in Business Administration at the University of Tennessee (Go Vols!) in 1976. Mr. Shipman moved to Knoxville in 1971 and commenced a 26-year career with the Tennessee Valley Authority. In 1973, he was certified and duly authorized to practice as a Professional Engineer, a certification he maintained until his death. Starting as a Staff Engineer at the TVA, he later worked in the Office of Engineering Design and Construction and Dam Safety Operations before retiring in 1997. A longtime member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, he was elected a Fellow in 2008. Receiving an Officer Commission in the United States Army upon graduation from college, he served 28 years with active and reservist duty assignments in Germany, Vietnam, Panama, and the United States. He retired in 1995 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, having been awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon and other awards. After retirement from, and in association with, the TVA, he embarked on a new career with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. From 2001 through 2019, he served as a Project Engineer, assessing damage from natural disasters in 15 states and the United States Virgin Islands. Mr. Shipman is preceded in death by his parents, J.B. Shipman and Julia Mae Scoggins Shipman, Temple, TX. He is survived by his faithful wife and friend, Allison Lorayne Lester; daughter, Leslye Dana Megronigle, McClellanville, SC and Natalie McKenna Shipman, Athens, GA; grandchildren, Byron McCullough Tobin, Tradd Logan Tobin, Kathleen McKenna Tobin, Fisher Allen Cobb, and Ivy Madison Cobb, McClellanville, SC; brother and sister in law, Terry Glen Shipman and Nancy S. Shipman, Beaumont, TX; niece and nephew, Laura Jane Shipman and JMichael Shipman, Beaumont, TX; brother in law, Gregory F. Lester, Knoxville, TN; innumerable cousins and friends and colleagues. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 10:00AM at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 414 West Vine Avenue, Knoxville, TN. Family and friends may gather in the sanctuary from 9:00AM – 10:00AM prior to the service. LTC Shipman will be buried with full military honors at the Chattanooga National Cemetery, 1200 Bailey Avenue, Chattanooga, TN on Friday, February 7, 2020 at 2:00 pm. Family and friends will convene at the Administration Office 15 minutes prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to the Clemson Corp Quasi-Endowment/Army ROTC, c/o Clemson University, P.O. Box 1889, Clemson, SC 29633-1889. Online condolences may be extended at www.rosemortuary.com

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LTC Samuel A. Shipman

January 28, 2020