Mary Whittle Tipton

June 1, 1921 – June 24, 2019

Mary Whittle Tipton passed away peacefully with her family beside her on June 24, 2019. She was 98. Born in San Francisco in 1921 to Albert and Claire Whittle, Mary was raised in Palo Alto and Redwood City, and attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart (Atherton) and San Francisco College for Women, where she graduated in 1943. She earned a master’s degree in Library Science at UC Berkeley and later worked as a librarian in San Francisco and on the Peninsula.

In 1945 Mary married the love of her life, Benjamin Tipton, and they shared their lives together for 53 years. After short stints in Marin and metro New York, Mary settled with her family in Menlo Park in 1951, where she and Ben raised five children. Mary is survived by her sister Monica Andreis of Corte Madera, children Steven of Atlanta and Redwood City (Kristin Mann), Ann of Orinda (Michael Hofmayer), Louise of Oakland (Mark Oberle), Elaine of Redwood City (George Miram) and Mark of Piedmont (Suzanne), and eight grandchildren, David (Ashlee) and Lauren (Robbie) Hofmayer, Evan, Elizabeth and Neil Tipton, Alex and Molly Miram and Cady Oberle. Mary was predeceased by her beloved husband Ben in 1998, and by her siblings Al, Claire and Gene Whittle. Mary’s children are deeply grateful to Ms. Ben Baylon, Mary’s devoted caregiver since 2016.

A funeral mass will be held on July 9th at 10 a.m.at St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco, followed by burial at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mary’s name to the St. Vincent de Paul Society.