For the Shipps, a lifetime of love and community

Longevity and perseverance are words to describe the lives of Keifer and Grace Shipp.

They were recently honored by at least 123 friends and relatives with a dual birthday celebration at the Elks Lodge.

Keifer celebrated his 100th birthday, while Grace has 96 years on her life calendar.

He was born Sept. 29, 1911 in Hico, Texas, to William O. and Mary Ann Shipp and brought to the Yuma Valley in October 1920 with brothers Otis, L.V. and Jim.

“Our family had a farm southwest of Somerton where we all worked. I remember raising and picking cotton, plowing it under for the next crop. And we had cows that had to be milked morning and evening, every day, no matter what the weather.”

He attended Gregg School, which is “long gone,” then to Somerton Grammar School.

“I graduated from Yuma Union High School in 1930 and remember our class had a prom dance at Rosie's Cabana out on the mesa,” Keifer said.

Gracie wasn't there, however, because she didn't graduate until 1933.

“I met Keifer at a church social and he offered to walk me home. That was the beginning for us.”

Grace was born Aug. 27, 1915 in Uvalde, Texas. Her parents were Con and Julia Bownds Wentworth, who moved to the Yuma Valley in 1918. She had a brother, Howard, and two sisters, Sue and Elizabeth.

Keifer and Grace Shipp were married on May 12, 1935, and have been together more than 76 years.

Keifer started working in the banking business in 1930 in Yuma. “My job was with the Security and Trust, owned by Emil Eger Sr. and a Mr. Tobias. The company went bankrupt, as did many during the Great Depression.

“I also worked for E.F. Sanguinetti in his grocery and dry goods stores.”

His career continued through the Miners and Merchants National Bank out of Bisbee in 1934. It sold to the First National Bank in 1937, with offices on Main Street in Yuma.

“While I worked at the bank we lived in Yuma on 7th Avenue,” Keifer said. “We bought this house on Capitol Street in Somerton in 1945, the year I was made manager of the bank in Somerton.”

Old-timers often referred to the Somerton location as “Keifer's bank.”

The banking business has undergone many changes, he said.

“Many activities and loans were concluded with a firm handshake or over the phone. One I recall was receiving a phone call from ... a Somerton businessman who was in Texas. He said he needed to buy a new car because his had broken down. He gave the phone to a Texas banker who I told it was OK to accept Toland's check. That took care of that.”

Grace was influential in the library program in Somerton, starting a “branch” in the fire station. Later the Entre Nous Clubhouse was the town library, and she worked at the O.L. Carlisle School library. Her efforts helped start the new, full-fledged library in Somerton.

In recognition of her work, Grace was nominated as a Yuma County Man of the Year (now Citizen of the Year) sponsored by The Sun. Her name was submitted in 1970 by Al Frauenfelder, a noted Somerton businessman. In 1993 she received the Madora Ingalls award honoring the wife of a warden at the Yuma Territorial Prison, who started a library for prisoners in those early days.

The Shipps have been involved in the community as well. Keifer was a charter member of the Yuma Golf and Country Club, a founder and president of the Somerton Rotary Club, member of the Somerton town council, and is a past president of the Yuma County Fair board. He was brought into the BPOE Lodge 476 by his late brother, Supervisor Otis Shipp, 57 years ago.

Gracie is a member of the PEO.

The couple fondly recall the many popular dances at the Entre Nous clubhouse and the many socials they hosted at their home.

They are proud of their son Keifer “Pat” Shipp; his wife, Joyce; grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“Sadly we lost our daughter Stacy Kramer in 2009, but her husband, two sons and a daughter are in our hearts,” Grace said.

After retirement, the couple lived in a senior guest facility for exactly four months.

“We moved back to our Somerton home, and that's where we want to be,” Keifer said.

Longevity, perseverance and love is their story, they agreed.