John N. Tipsword, 78 of Saratoga Springs, NY formerly of Taylorville passed away on Monday, November 17, 2014 at Saratoga Hospital in Saratoga Springs.
He was born on August 25, 1936 at St. Elmo the son of Lewis Cecil and Earline (Edwards) Tipsword. He married Barbara Jean Bruns on December 23, 1961 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Taylorville; she preceded him in death on October 26, 2007. He was also preceded in death by his parents; Brothers, Jack Tipsword and Bob Tipsword.
John grew up in rural Illinois. As a child he lived in Blue Mound and Mt. Auburn. After his marriage to Barbara they settled in Taylorville and raised their family on Brookdale Court. As a young man he loved the racing of stock cars at Macon Speedway, which is where he earned the nickname Big John, Big Bad John. As he grew older he decided to spend more time with his children than racing, he became a great father and enjoyed taking them to tractor pulls. After the death of his wife Barbara, he moved to upstate New York with his daughter and enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren. During his lifetime he worked at Holland Dairy and ADM. He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church of Taylorville.
Survivors include: Daughter, Brenda (husband, George) Wiederkehr of Schenectady, NY; Son, Jerry (wife, Patty) Tipsword of Edinburg, IL; Grandchildren, Michael Andrew Kopcza, Hans Alexander Wiederkehr and Lars Nathaniel Wiederkehr all of Schenectady, NY; Sister, Gladys Flo (husband, Bobby) Pennington of Mt. Vernon, MO; Sisters in law, Leanna Tipsword of Mt. Auburn, IL and Elssie Tipsword of La Grange, GA; Many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, November 22, 2014 at 11:00 AM at Trinity Lutheran Church in Taylorville with Pastor Rodney Blomquist officiating. Burial will follow at Glen Haven Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be held on Friday, from 5:00-7:00 PM at Shafer-Perfetti Funeral Home in Taylorville. Additional visitation will be held on Saturday from 10:00 AM until service time at the church.
Shafer-Perfetti Funeral Home in Taylorville is in charge of arrangements.
Condolences for John’s family may be left at www.perfettifuneralhome.com
