Russell Francis Flippen was born in Los Angeles, California on September 4, 1931 to Lucile Claire Sharp and Buster Fred Flippen. His mother was born in Nebraska to Martha Julia Hedman and Roy Leonard Sharp and his father was born in Texas to Willie Pearl Sherrill and James Seth Flippen.
Russ was almost 6 years old when his mother died of lumbar pneumonia, an event that affected him for the rest of his life. He was placed in an orpanage a with his younger brother, Norman, where he lived for about 2 years. Over the rest of his childhood, he and his brother lived with their Aunt Lola, their grandmother (Granny Sharp), as well as with their father and his new wife. Russ delivered newspapers to help with the family income. He also attended school in Los Angeles.
When Russ was 17, his father helped him enter the Navy by altering his birth date so that he was old enough to join. For the next 4 years (1948-1952) he was able to travel to Mediterranian countries while serving on the U.S.S. Newport News heavy cruiser ship, stationed in Virginia, in the Korean War. While in the Navy, Russ earned his GED to complete his high school education.
He then returned to the west coast of America, settling in Pendleton, Oregon. When his father remarried again, he gained a half-brother, David Flippen, and a half-sister, Sandy Flippen. He was in a movie, Souix Uprising, where he played both cowboy and Indian. In one scene, he was with a band of Indians riding a horse barebacked down a hill when the horse veered to the left, knocking him off, stepping on his leg and breaking it.
After rehab, he got a job at McKee Furniture Store, where the owner's sister-in-law Pat spotted him and asked her sister's husband to set up a date with him. They met at the McKee's home, where they all played cards. On that night in February 1953, after dropping Pat off at her boarding house, he went home and announced that he'd met the woman he wanted to marry. By July Russell Flippen and Patricia Dahlquist were married, setting up house in Pendleton, Oregon.
In 1954 Russ and Pat moved to California, where Pat's parents lived. They lived in Los Angeles from 1955 to 1966, adding 3 children to their family along the way. Their youngest daughter was dying from asthma, so following her doctor's orders, they "got out of L.A.!" Prescott, Arizona was their destination, and in 1967 the family began the next chapter in the mountains of Arizona. At the time of this writing, 2016, Pat and their children still live in the Prescott area. Russ was a generous and giving father, son, husband and friend, touching every person in his life with his own special light. He was very loved and is sorely missed.
Russ was almost 6 years old when his mother died of lumbar pneumonia, an event that affected him for the rest of his life. He was placed in an orpanage a with his younger brother, Norman, where he lived for about 2 years. Over the rest of his childhood, he and his brother lived with their Aunt Lola, their grandmother (Granny Sharp), as well as with their father and his new wife. Russ delivered newspapers to help with the family income. He also attended school in Los Angeles.
When Russ was 17, his father helped him enter the Navy by altering his birth date so that he was old enough to join. For the next 4 years (1948-1952) he was able to travel to Mediterranian countries while serving on the U.S.S. Newport News heavy cruiser ship, stationed in Virginia, in the Korean War. While in the Navy, Russ earned his GED to complete his high school education.
He then returned to the west coast of America, settling in Pendleton, Oregon. When his father remarried again, he gained a half-brother, David Flippen, and a half-sister, Sandy Flippen. He was in a movie, Souix Uprising, where he played both cowboy and Indian. In one scene, he was with a band of Indians riding a horse barebacked down a hill when the horse veered to the left, knocking him off, stepping on his leg and breaking it.
After rehab, he got a job at McKee Furniture Store, where the owner's sister-in-law Pat spotted him and asked her sister's husband to set up a date with him. They met at the McKee's home, where they all played cards. On that night in February 1953, after dropping Pat off at her boarding house, he went home and announced that he'd met the woman he wanted to marry. By July Russell Flippen and Patricia Dahlquist were married, setting up house in Pendleton, Oregon.
In 1954 Russ and Pat moved to California, where Pat's parents lived. They lived in Los Angeles from 1955 to 1966, adding 3 children to their family along the way. Their youngest daughter was dying from asthma, so following her doctor's orders, they "got out of L.A.!" Prescott, Arizona was their destination, and in 1967 the family began the next chapter in the mountains of Arizona. At the time of this writing, 2016, Pat and their children still live in the Prescott area. Russ was a generous and giving father, son, husband and friend, touching every person in his life with his own special light. He was very loved and is sorely missed.
Russell Francis Flippen was born in Los Angeles, California on September 4, 1931 to Lucile Claire Sharp and Buster Fred Flippen. His mother was born in Nebraska to Martha Julia Hedman and Roy Leonard Sharp and his father was born in Texas to Willie Pearl Sherrill and James Seth Flippen.
Russ was almost 6 years old when his mother died of lumbar pneumonia, an event that affected him for the rest of his life. He was placed in an orpanage a with his younger brother, Norman, where he lived for about 2 years. Over the rest of his childhood, he and his brother lived with their Aunt Lola, their grandmother (Granny Sharp), as well as with their father and his new wife. Russ delivered newspapers to help with the family income. He also attended school in Los Angeles.
When Russ was 17, his father helped him enter the Navy by altering his birth date so that he was old enough to join. For the next 4 years (1948-1952) he was able to travel to Mediterranian countries while serving on the U.S.S. Newport News heavy cruiser ship, stationed in Virginia, in the Korean War. While in the Navy, Russ earned his GED to complete his high school education.
He then returned to the west coast of America, settling in Pendleton, Oregon. When his father remarried again, he gained a half-brother, David Flippen, and a half-sister, Sandy Flippen. He was in a movie, Souix Uprising, where he played both cowboy and Indian. In one scene, he was with a band of Indians riding a horse barebacked down a hill when the horse veered to the left, knocking him off, stepping on his leg and breaking it.
After rehab, he got a job at McKee Furniture Store, where the owner's sister-in-law Pat spotted him and asked her sister's husband to set up a date with him. They met at the McKee's home, where they all played cards. On that night in February 1953, after dropping Pat off at her boarding house, he went home and announced that he'd met the woman he wanted to marry. By July Russell Flippen and Patricia Dahlquist were married, setting up house in Pendleton, Oregon.
In 1954 Russ and Pat moved to California, where Pat's parents lived. They lived in Los Angeles from 1955 to 1966, adding 3 children to their family along the way. Their youngest daughter was dying from asthma, so following her doctor's orders, they "got out of L.A.!" Prescott, Arizona was their destination, and in 1967 the family began the next chapter in the mountains of Arizona. At the time of this writing, 2016, Pat and their children still live in the Prescott area. Russ was a generous and giving father, son, husband and friend, touching every person in his life with his own special light. He was very loved and is sorely missed.
Russ was almost 6 years old when his mother died of lumbar pneumonia, an event that affected him for the rest of his life. He was placed in an orpanage a with his younger brother, Norman, where he lived for about 2 years. Over the rest of his childhood, he and his brother lived with their Aunt Lola, their grandmother (Granny Sharp), as well as with their father and his new wife. Russ delivered newspapers to help with the family income. He also attended school in Los Angeles.
When Russ was 17, his father helped him enter the Navy by altering his birth date so that he was old enough to join. For the next 4 years (1948-1952) he was able to travel to Mediterranian countries while serving on the U.S.S. Newport News heavy cruiser ship, stationed in Virginia, in the Korean War. While in the Navy, Russ earned his GED to complete his high school education.
He then returned to the west coast of America, settling in Pendleton, Oregon. When his father remarried again, he gained a half-brother, David Flippen, and a half-sister, Sandy Flippen. He was in a movie, Souix Uprising, where he played both cowboy and Indian. In one scene, he was with a band of Indians riding a horse barebacked down a hill when the horse veered to the left, knocking him off, stepping on his leg and breaking it.
After rehab, he got a job at McKee Furniture Store, where the owner's sister-in-law Pat spotted him and asked her sister's husband to set up a date with him. They met at the McKee's home, where they all played cards. On that night in February 1953, after dropping Pat off at her boarding house, he went home and announced that he'd met the woman he wanted to marry. By July Russell Flippen and Patricia Dahlquist were married, setting up house in Pendleton, Oregon.
In 1954 Russ and Pat moved to California, where Pat's parents lived. They lived in Los Angeles from 1955 to 1966, adding 3 children to their family along the way. Their youngest daughter was dying from asthma, so following her doctor's orders, they "got out of L.A.!" Prescott, Arizona was their destination, and in 1967 the family began the next chapter in the mountains of Arizona. At the time of this writing, 2016, Pat and their children still live in the Prescott area. Russ was a generous and giving father, son, husband and friend, touching every person in his life with his own special light. He was very loved and is sorely missed.
Inscription
FLIPPEN, RUSSELL F.
US NAVY VETERAN
1931 - 1997
DAHLQUIST, PATRICIA A.
1933 -
