Joan Lipsey, 84, died March 16, 2015.
Mrs. Lipsey graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and continued her education in advanced dance in Chicago and New York City. She also trained as a lab technician. She had three dance studios in Iowa. She also taught dance and aerobics in Omaha, Neb.; Riverside, Calif.; Kaufbeum, Germany; Norwalk, Conn.; and Tucson. She participated in the Omaha Community Theater as a technician and stage manager from 1952 to 1954. Mrs. Lipsey acted and danced in various productions of the Chanticlair Theatre Group in Council Bluffs and theatre productions in Kaufbeum. She and her husband, Al, moved to Tucson in 1983. It was in Tucson that Joan became a “professional volunteer.” She was a member of the advisory board of the University of Arizona College of Nursing; president of the Friends of the UA Cancer Center; and committee member of the Friends of the UA Sarver Heart Center and UA Arthritis Center.
Mrs. Lipsey was preceded in death by her sister, Beatrice Schneider. Survivors include her husband of 60 years, Al Lipsey; daughter, Liane (David) Cooper of Tucson; sister, Shirley (Eddie) Cherniss of Fresno, Calif.; and one grandson.
Services were held at East Lawn Cemetery with Rabbi Thomas Louchheim of Congregation Or Chadash officiating.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Jewish History Museum, 564 S. Stone Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701.
