[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 26, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E93-E94]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN MEMORY OF KENNETH G. PIPPIN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 26, 2010

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, on January 18, 2010, our 
country lost an American patriot and a community leader with the 
passing of Kenneth Pippin:
  Kenneth G. Pippin, 83, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, passed away on 
January 18, 2010, at Baltimore Washington Medical Center surrounded by 
his family. Kenneth, son of the late Rufus Pippin and Frances Pauline 
Owens Casto, was born in Wilder, Virginia. He grew up in Welch, West 
Virginia, where he graduated from high school. Right before his 18th 
birthday, Kenneth went to Welch's US Army Recruiting Office and asked 
them to draft him because his grandmother would not let him volunteer. 
Ken served in the Army during World War II as a paratrooper in the 82nd 
Airbrone Division, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. During the 
invasion of Normandy, with paratroopers suffering the heaviest 
causalities, Kenneth bravely volunteered to be a part of the parachute 
regiment. He spent most of his service in Europe. Shortly after his 
discharge from the Army, Kenneth moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where he 
completed technical school.
  He married his high school sweetheart, Thelma Beasley, in 1948, after 
a long courtship. They had four wonderful children: three sons, Kenny, 
Kevin, and Kerwin, and one daughter, Karen. Kenneth and Thelma lived in 
Glen Burnie, Maryland, for 53 years. Kenneth worked as a printer for 
Baltimore Business Forms for 34 years and later retired from the 
Baltimore-Annapolis Railroad Company. He was also a member of Glen 
Burnie Baptist Church, The American Association of Military Insignia, 
and VFW Post 160.
  Kenneth loved life and appreciated everything he had. He enjoyed 
spending summer vacations at his wife's family farm in Hillsville, 
Virginia. In retirement, he and Thelma became snowbirds and flew south 
every winter to their son's home in Sarasota, Florida. He enjoyed 
hunting, reading--especially about military history--and collecting 
military insignias. His

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greatest love was his family and his wife of 61 years.
  I have known Kenneth's son, Ken, for many years, and am grateful for 
his longtime service to South Carolina. I sincerely appreciate his work 
as President of the Carolina Southern Railroad and Chairman of the 
South Carolina Association of Railroads.

                          ____________________