Kenton Loyd Lipham

Kenton Loyd Lipham, 84, of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, husband of Susan Ann Oertel Lipham entered into eternal rest Thursday, August 28, 2025. His Funeral Service will be held Thursday, September 4, 2025 in the Christ Episcopal Church, 2304 Hwy 17 N, Mount Pleasant, SC, at 11:00 am. Interment will follow in Christ Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends at 10:30 before the service. 

As written by Kenton Loyd Lipham in honor of his life well-lived:

Kenton Loyd Lipham was born on July 4, 1941, at 4:00 pm at Norton Infirmary, in Louisville, Kentucky. My brother Bob was born a year later.

My parents were Minnie (from New Orleans) and Harold Lipham (from Bowdon GA). My father worked for the Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company in Louisville.

In 1944, our family was transferred to Atlanta, Georgia and we lived in the Ansley Park area of Atlanta. Our home was adjacent to the Ansley Golf Club and was a great place for kids to play. In 1950, we moved into a larger home in Decatur, Georgia within walking distance to Winnona Park Elementary School and the city of Decatur.

We had a huge backyard with a creek and trees to climb. I was active in scouting for several years. I attained the rank of Eagle Scout with a Bronze Palm. I also received the God and Country Award and was chosen to participate in The Order of the Arrow. I spent several weeks each summer at Camp Bert Adams where Cumberland Mall is now located.

During my school years I was in the ROTC at Decatur high school, my parents enlisted me in the US Army reserves to keep me out of the draft. Upon graduating in June 1959, I went to the US Army Finance School at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana for four months and was then discharged from active duty and served the remainder of my reserve time until 1966.

In 1960 I went to the University of Chattanooga, majoring in Architecture, but changed majors in 1962. In 1964 | transferred to Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated with a Business Administration degree in 1968.

My hobbies and interests were many: scouting, hiking, camping, swimming, canoeing, spelunking, mountain climbing, coin collecting and building an 18-foot Kayak with a rudder steerable with my feet, and a surrey on top.

I was employed by the Sinclair Oil Company in Atlanta in their Real Estate Division and was transferred to Savannah Georgia to locate and purchase service station sites for future development. Our division was caught up in a merger with another oil company, and we all lost our jobs in 1970.

In 1971, I was employed at Fulton Federal Savings and Loan in Atlanta as a house construction inspector, then a real estate appraiser. I appraised land and single-family homes until 1979. During this period, I took many courses in the appraisal arena. My specialty was large antebellum homes built in the mid 1800's in the Metro Atlanta and middle Georgia area.

In 1973, I met and married Anne Moore from Huntington, West Virginia, and we lived in the Morningside area of northeast Atlanta. We were both very active at Haygood Methodist Church and ran the youth programs for several years.

In 1979, I changed occupations and took a position in sales with a textile family-owned textile company. My territory covered a geographic area from Kansas to Canada and Illinois to California. All travel was by car and the road trips ranged from 2 to 3 weeks. After 2 years, the travel distances took a toll on my health, and I resigned that position. After some recoup time, I started a Real Estate Appraisal Business of my own.

In 1987, the appraisal market slowed down and I was offered a position with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at Atlanta Airport.

My title was a Real Estate Contracting Officer (RECO). I secured Land and Office Space on or off airports for aviation purposes. I either leased, purchased, or condemned what was required. My territory consisted of the United States Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos Islands, Bahamas, and parts of North Carolina.

As a RECO, I leased suitable housing for the FAA Employees (Air Traffic Controllers and Engineers that managed the airports on these islands. I contacted all the necessary persons on the various islands and interacted with them to establish effective and smooth operation at their airport facilities. My job was very interesting, and I enjoyed it very much.

In September 1987, Hurricane Hugo destroyed many housing and supporting structures in this entire area including much of South Carolina, USA and in USVI. Saint Thomas and Saint Croix were the hardest hit and many of the structures were stripped down to the bare walls or destroyed completely by the inhabitants. Looting and shooting were commonplace for the first few days. The military was brought in to quell and secure the islands.

Since this was my territory, I was selected to go there and secure suitable housing for all the FAA's personnel and their families. It was a daunting task, but over a period of several weeks, fill was accomplished. I received considerable praise for my work and accomplishments.

In 1991, after 21 years, Anne and I divorced. I met Susan and we dated each other for a few years. On December 2, 2000, we got married at Saint Mark United Methodist Church in Atlanta. What a beautiful ceremony and reception. We traveled to and from the reception in a vintage Rolls Royce. We spent our honeymoon in Saint Lucia in the Caribbean and had a wonderful time. We stayed at Hotel Ladiera on top of a mountain overlooking the Pitons and sea.

In 2018, we adopted our second Corgi, APPLE. She is our wonderful second daughter. What a delight, she is so intelligent.

We just celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary at the Wentworth Mansion in Charleston, SC. WOW! What a beautiful home and we had the best accommodation.

Since 2000, we have done a lot of travelling to Europe, Ireland, Scotland, the Caribbean, and our Time share in Saint Maarten. We have traveled a lot in the USA.

I retired from the FAA. Susan and I designed, built, and furnished our new forever home near Blue Ridge in Northwest Georgia. What a beautiful home. We had almost 14 acres of land on Fightingtown Creek which was a premiere trout stream. Being in the country, we had deer, bears, and sundry other animals and birds. Our own little slice of heaven.

As the years passed, our health decreased. We needed more amenities and world-class medical and therefore we started vacationing in the Charleston and the Mount Pleasant areas. Susan did her homework and with the help of our Real Estate agent, helped us find the perfect home for us. Susan found our cute little cottage at

561 Galera Lane, in Mt. Pleasant. We are 30 minutes to the Airport, 30 minutes to downtown Charleston, 30 minutes to the beach. Every day we are here we like it better. Apple loves everybody and especially Doggy Daycare.

We joined Christ Episcopal Church and Susan volunteers as the Church Treasurer. I attend when possible and we have made some lasting friends. Our Church Sanctuary was originally built in 1704.

Arrangements are by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc., Mount Pleasant Chapel. A memorial message may be sent to the family on our website at www.jhenrystuhr.com.