Wilbur H.

Flippin, Jr

Obituary

Attorney Dr. Wilbur H. Flippin, Jr.

December 9th, 1929 ~ March 9th, 2016

W ilbur Henry Flippin, Jr. affectionately known as "Buster" or "Flip" passed away on March 9, 2016 at the Cranbury Center in Monroe, NJ.  He was born on December 9, 1929 in Passaic, NJ to the late Wilbur H. Flippin, Sr. and the late Anita Flippin. He was raised in Rutherford, NJ along with his older sister, the late June Lorraine Flippin and his cousins at 32 Elm Street, the homestead of the Flippin/Jackson/Hendricks families.

Wilbur attended Rutherford public schools and graduated from Rutherford High School in 1947. During his high school years, he played the saxophone for the band and played for a church sponsored basketball team.  After graduating from high school, he went to Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, OH where he pledged Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.  After graduating with a B.A. degree in 1951 he attended Cleveland Marshall Law School where he received an L.L.B. degree in 1957 and a J.D. degree in 1968.  Wilbur then moved to Mansfield, OH to establish his own law practice and he made a huge impact on the community, especially in the realm of civil rights.  He worked with city officials as a member of the Mayor's Committee on Human Relations to bring about change.  He pushed to reinstate the local NAACP chapter, with himself as the first president and led a local contingency to Martin Luther King Jr's march on Washington, D.C.

He was a 32nd degree Prince Hall Free and Accepted Mason. He received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Wilberforce University in 1989 and was inducted into the Wilberforce University Hall of Fame. He was a member of the Ohio, American, Richland and Knox County Bar Associations and a lifetime member of the NAACP and Wilberforce University Alumni Association. He was a past president of the Wilberforce University Alumni Association Board of Directors and also served on the Wilberforce University Board of Trustees. He was the founder of the MRM Community Action Program and Headstart Program in Mansfield and has a building named after him. He was also on the Board of Metropolitan Housing and served on the Providence Baptist Church Board of Trustees, where he was a member for more than 15 years. After practicing law for over 50 years, he retired and moved back to New Jersey to be close to family and childhood friends.

After graduation from Wilberforce University, he married the late Betty Jean Howard and from this union came four children, Anita, Andrea, Craig, and the late Corin Van Flippin. After the passing of Betty Jean Flippin, he married his childhood sweetheart, Edith Peay.

Wilbur leaves to cherish his memories his loving wife, Edith Flippin, daughters Anita Linzy and Andrea Borders, son Craig Flippin, grandchildren Carees Linzy, Christian Borders, Re'Shea Flippin, and Elijah Mullins-Flippin, great grandchildren, Karsten Bonner-Linzy, Naya Pender-Linzy, Wysdom Linzy, Azar Brooks-Linzy, Amun Brooks-Linzy, and Saxon Leech, Jr., niece Dr. Elizabeth Robinson Henry, and a host of relatives and friends.