It’s with great sadness that we said goodbye to our friend, family member and VP of sales, Jim Lippert, on August 11.
Jim was beloved by everyone who knew him. Admired for his easy-going, warm and extroverted personality, Jim was the type of man who made you feel important when he spoke with you. He was so personable, in fact, that his high school friends created a fan club for him that’s still going strong today, with 450 members and counting.
A natural with customers, Jim started in Hamilton sales back in 1990.
“He was THE guy you wanted to work for,” recalled Marty Wilson, Hamilton’s Director of Business Development. No matter what, Jim had your back.”
“He demonstrated an incredible empathy for his team—always a good listener and never confrontational,” added Hamilton President Mark Lippert. “If he ever needed to share difficult feedback, he did it in a way that the person on the receiving end was so grateful and appreciative by the end of the conversation!”
One of the hallmarks of Jim’s personality was his “booming voice” and the way he expressed “growls of approval” when anyone on his team achieved a sale. Mused Hamilton Sales Engineer Joe Ford, “His voice was rich and full, and you could hear him speaking from 50 yards away—you could hear him laugh from 100 yards away. He would have made a wonderful sportscaster. I will miss him greatly.”
An alumni and avid sports fan of the University of Michigan, Jim attended college on an ROTC full ride scholarship. He served seven-and-a-half years as an Army field artillery officer and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and Army Commendation Medal. Devoted to both his family and community, Jim served on the Wyoming Booster board, coached his three sons’ baseball and basketball teams and was named the 2003 Wyoming Citizen of the Year for his leadership. He was also active in two Wyoming churches, where he served as a reader, lector, choir member and eucharistic minister.
Jim recently celebrated 40 years with his high school sweetheart, Carrie, and is survived by his four children and five grandchildren. “He was the consummate family man,” said Lippert. “Twice a week, he and Carrie would host family dinners at his house. Their love and fellowship were something straight out of a Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving.”
We will miss Jim more than we can say.