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Elizabeth Ann Shipp
<p>Elizabeth Ann Shipp passed away peacefully on May 10, 2022, surrounded by her loving family.</p><p>Elizabeth “Beth” was born on Friday, December 21, 1934, to Edith Sanders Abstein and William Russell Abstein in Tallahassee, Florida.</p><p><br></p><p>Around the age of five, Beth moved with her family to Jacksonville, Florida where she grew up with her five siblings: Robert (Jan / Roberta (D)), Walter (Martha), John Dale “Jack” (D), Terrence Fine (Alan), and Joan Osborn.</p><p><br></p><p>Beth graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville. Upon graduation at the age of 17, she went to work for Southern Bell Telephone Company and retired 35 years later at the age of 52. On June 17, 1955, Beth married Francis Marion Shipp Jr. In 2007, Beth and Francis parted and went their separate ways.</p><p><br></p><p>Beth is mother to Susan Kelly Christensen (Kent), Matthew Francis Shipp (Judy), and Lillian Elizabeth Cluff (Ryan).</p><p><br></p><p>On October 27, 1972, at the age of 38, Beth became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Her baptism was one of the highest points in her life. Her eternal sealing to her children on December 4, 1975, in the Washington DC Temple was another. On October 9, 1994, Beth was given the honor to sing in the dedicatory choir for the Orlando, Florida temple. She went on to serve in the Orlando Temple for several years; and referred to that temple as “my temple.” The gospel of Jesus Christ was a firm foundation on which she clung to many times throughout her life and from which she never wavered.</p><p><br></p><p>Beth loved music and singing and had a beautiful voice. In her youth, she sang with her brothers and sisters in a group called The Wayfarers. We have fond memories of she and her siblings’ playing guitars and ukuleles and singing late into the evenings. She sang on local radio and television. She sang in choirs and was choir director for choirs too many to mention.</p><p>Beth passed her love of music and singing to her children and grandchildren, singing to them often; having a song in her heart to fit any occasion. For her nine grandchildren, she wrote a song she called her “Grandchildren Song.” At Thanksgiving this year, she added verses to include her four great grandchildren.</p><p><br></p><p>Beth was a voracious reader, reading as many as five books a week and many at the same time. At one point she had saved several hundred books and often joked about opening her own used bookstore.</p><p><br></p><p>She loved writing poetry and won many contests throughout the years. She would write poetry about her joys, her challenges, and even won a small contest with a poem she wrote about her cancer diagnosis.</p><p><br></p><p>Regardless of her circumstances, our mother found happiness. She was described by many as a “sweet light” who could lift the spirit of another with her smile and kind words. In her later years, she would often say that her goal for each day was to make one person smile. She met her goal until the day she passed.</p><p><br></p><p>Our mother spent the last couple of years of her life in the peaceful comfort of her home at The Seville in Orem, Utah. Our family wishes to extend a special thanks to the amazing staff at The Seville. We know you loved her, and she loved you. To her many neighbors who came through her open door often- thank you! To Sydney, her special angel who helped her pass to the next life peacefully- we express our sincere gratitude. Finally, to Joyce, her very special friend who loved and served her above and beyond, we love you.</p><p>Beth is preceded in death by her brother Jack, her parents, and her beloved grandma, Annie Blanche Abstein. Our mother’s last words were “Love one another as I have loved you. Don’t forget it!”</p>May 10, 202205/10/2022
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