Steve Kippur, 65, died April 20, 2018.
Mr. Kippur was born and raised in Denver, raised his children in Pueblo, Colorado, and spent the last 15 years of his life in Tucson. Mr. Kippur owned a furniture store in Pueblo and was a third-generation scrap metal dealer at Amcep Metals.
Mr. Kippur was honored as the Man of Year by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona in 2015. He is a past president of Tucson Hebrew Academy and the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation and served on the JFSA board. He visited Jewish communities around the globe on behalf of the Federation, including Morocco and Israel.
“Steve’s lust for fun was his defining feature, along with his affinity for the T. rex,” says his niece, Andrea Kippur. “He made a joke out of everything, because he knew if you weren’t laughing you weren’t living.”
“Steve was a true baal chesed (someone who epitomizes loving kindness) — his life revolved around giving to his family, his friends, and the Jewish community in Tucson and beyond,” adds his niece, Jamie Yoder. “Every week he and his grandchildren lit the Sabbath candles and tore the challah bread, teaching them the traditions his own grandparents taught him. His passion for Jewish education and endless commitment to helping others will live on in his children, grandchildren and beyond.”
Survivors include his brother, Gary (Tandy) Kippur of Tucson; children, Shelly Kippur of Tucson, Dani (Jeremy) Rovinsky of Phoenix, Andrew Kippur of Tucson, Rachel Kippur of Israel, and Jordan Kippur of Pueblo; nieces, Jamie (Christian) Yoder of Tucson and Andrea Kippur of Washington, D.C.; and seven grandchildren.
Graveside services were held in the Congregation Anshei Israel section of Evergreen Cemetery, with Rabbis Billy Lewkowicz and Robert Eisen officiating.
