Wanda Shipp
Wanda Shipp
Wanda Alaire Shipp nee Van Alstine was born in Cut Bank, Montana
on September 23
rd
, 1924.
She
was the daughter of a Dutch father – William Alexander Van Alstine – and an
Italian mother – Erselia Narducci, known as Lucille.
Wanda grew up on a farm 15 miles north of Cut Bank, Montana with
her mom and dad, sister and three brothers. No electricity and no
plumbing.
She was the oldest child, so
from an early age she had many chores – milking cows, tending chickens,
gardening, and taking care of her sister and brothers as they came along.
Wanda’s early life was not all
work. As they got older, she and her sister Betty began to sing together at
socials and other gatherings of the locals. They were quite good and often
requested to perform. Turns out her entire family was musically inclined.
Wanda attended F. Lake Country
School, where she received a Special Achievement Award from the Dept. of
Glacier County Schools upon graduation from the 8
th
grade….she was
very proud of that! Then she attended
high school in Cut Bank, so the story was always 15 miles through the snow and
back – and uphill both ways. She graduated in 1942 and was asked to sing a solo
– “O Danny Boy” - at the graduation ceremony.
After high school she moved to Great Falls with her sister and got a job
on the Army Air Base there.
Wanda was a beautiful young woman,
with perfectly coiffed hair, and in 1944, she caught the eye of Richard (Dick)
Shipp when he was assigned there in the last years of WWII. He was handsome and
charming, plus he also loved music and singing. They fell in love and were
married in January of 1946.
Dick was from Beeville, Texas and he and Wanda moved there after
the honeymoon. They lived and worked there about a year or so. During that time
Wanda grew more and more homesick, so they eventually moved back to Cut Bank.
Wanda was much happier there with her family close by.
Over the next 5 years Wanda and Dick had two sons – Alan and
Steve. One of Wanda’s brothers (Bill), and her sister Betty, both lived in Cut
Bank and were married with children. So there were many family gatherings and
cousins to play with, as well as having Wanda’s Mom and Dad to proudly oversee
activities of their children and grandchildren.
The next chapter began on a rainy November in 1952, when Wanda and
her family packed up and moved to White Salmon, Washington where husband Dick
had gotten a job as the Administrator for the newly built Skyline Hospital. In
1955, they added a baby daughter to the family – Betty Carol – and over a 20-year
period Wanda and her family were a close knit unit with Father Knows Best,
Donna Reed, and Beaver Cleaver as models for growing up in the 1950’s. Wanda
and Dick were involved with all things musical, beginning with the choir in the
Methodist Church, then an annual performance of Handel’s Messiah at Christmas
time. Wanda always had a solo or two and husband Dick was the director.
Eventually all of Wanda’s children joined in the singing with at least one
performance of the Messiah where the whole family was involved. Good times.
As her children grew more independent, Wanda took some part time
work. Over the years she worked at Diamond Fruit, as a teller at the old
National Bank of Commerce, and taking money for lunches at the school
cafeteria. She saved her money for family vacations to Cut Bank, to visit
family; for camping trips all over the Northwest, for fishing and water skiing.
Family was very important to her, so they did a lot of things together.
Outside the family, Wanda had other interests as well: she was a
member of PEO, she and Dick belonged to Dance Club, and when her brother Bob
Van Alstine moved to White Salmon, they sang together and performed all over as
the Robert Van Trio, which then grew to be the Robert Van Singers as she got her
children, their friends and others involved in the music.
Wanda and Dick and daughter Betty Carol moved from White Salmon to
Kennewick, Washington in 1972. She worked at a bank for most of the 10 years
they lived there. During that time she enjoyed as always, singing in a choir at
church. She loved it when her boys would visit, and eventually was able to dote
on some grandchildren. Oh how they loved going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house.
When Dick retired in 1982, they moved to Clear Lake near Spokane,
WA. They lived on the lake in the summer and went south to Arizona for the
winter. Lots of fishing and playing tennis together, and some water skiing when
the kids and grandkids would visit. Eventually, in 1991, they tired of the
annual trek back and forth, and set up permanent residence in Boise, Idaho,
where number two son, Steve was living. Wanda always liked to have some family
close by, and in 1999 was rewarded with another grandchild – Alex.
Wanda lost Dick in 2006, and never quite forgave him for leaving her
behind – they had a pact you see, they were both supposed to go at the same
time.
But she kept talking
to him through the years after, until passing away quietly in her sleep on
March 11, 2016. She has been
looking forward to seeing Dick again “Beyond the Blue Horizon”, which was one
of their favorite songs and where we will always picture them both.
Wanda was preceded in death by her husband Richard B. Shipp, her
parents Bill and Lucille Van Alstine, Sister Betty Dean, and Brother Bert Van
Alstine.
Wanda is survived by sons Alan Shipp, Husum, WA; and Steve Shipp,
Boise, ID; daughter Betty Carol Shipp Symank, Westminster, CA; Brothers Bill
Van Alstine, Cut Bank, MT; and Bob Van Alstine, White Salmon, WA;
Grandchildren, Travis Shipp and Cody Shipp and Alex Shipp; and 1 Great
Granddaughter Cyra Q. Stewart.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Wanda Shipp, please visit our flower store.
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