Richard Phillip Trippet

Richard Phillip “Dick” Trippet was born on June 13, 1938 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Dr. Floyd E. Trippet and Mary Sonday Trippet.  He died on March 14, 2021 in Beaver, Oklahoma, surrounded by his family.

Dick was a proud husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

He met the love of his life, Diane Elizabeth Coleman, on a blind date in 1957 and they were married in Tulsa on June 5th, 1959.

Dick managed to find humor in nearly everything and had a legendary gift of gab.  He loved to talk to people and tell stories. 

When clients visited him in his law office, he was notorious for showing them photos of his family and proudly telling them the latest news and happenings with his wife, sons, daughters-in-law, grandkids and great-grandkids - sometimes leaving those clients wondering if they would be billed for that time.

He was a consummate planner, often joking that his tombstone would be engraved with the words: “He planned ahead.”  

Dick graduated from Cascia Hall Preparatory School in Tulsa in 1956 after attending Oklahoma Military academy in Claremore from 1953-1954.

He attended the University of Miami and University of Alabama, and received his law degree from the University of Tulsa in 1962, where he also served as clerk of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. 

He began his legal career in private practice in Tulsa and in 1963 moved his family to the Oklahoma Panhandle where he was Beaver County Attorney.  In 1965, he joined the law firm of Charles and Bob Miles. 

In 1967, he and Dwight Leonard formed Leonard and Trippet, and they were later joined in practice by Tim Leonard and Jamie Kee.  In 1999, he and his partners formed the law firm of Trippet & Kee, where he practiced alongside attorneys Jamie Kee, Thad Parsons, Ryan Reddick and Todd Trippet. 

Dick was active in numerous local civic organizations throughout the years, having served in a variety of roles with the Beaver Rotary Club, the Beaver Jaycees, the Beaver Chamber of Commerce, the Beaver County Bar Association, the Beaver Masonic Lodge and the Beaver County Law Library. 

He was an officer with the local Jaycees and Chamber of Commerce when the World Championship Cowchip Throw first started in Beaver in 1969.  The event became an annual tradition that garnered national and international media attention.

As a longtime member of the Beaver Rotary Club, he held several roles, including president, and was honored as a Paul Harris Fellow twice.  Dick also served on the Board of Directors of the Baker Arts Foundation of Liberal, Kansas. 

He was a master of the Beaver Masonic Lodge, a 32nd degree Mason in Guthrie Consistory, and member of the India Shrine of Oklahoma City.  And he served as the Associate Legal Counsel of the Oklahoma Jaycees and received both the Jaycee’s Distinguished Service Award and the Tulsa Jaycee’s Voice of Democracy Award. 

Dick was a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Council and frequent lecturer on Trust and Estate Laws, as well as estate and gift tax rules and regulations.  He was a member of the Beaver County, Oklahoma, and American Bar Associations.

He was a long time Sunday School teacher at the Beaver United Methodist Church where he served in many capacities including United Methodist Youth sponsor, church usher, Methodist Men President and church trustee, and he was always that smiling face greeting people at the door.

Dick was an avid sports fan and tennis player.  For many years, his daily work calendar reflected a 3pm appointment at “court” (the tennis court).  He and his family were a regular presence at local tennis tournaments, as well as other sporting events where his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren participated. 

He started the Beaver Babe Ruth Baseball Program and coached baseball in the community’s Summer League Baseball Program for nine years.

Dick was a season ticket holder for many years at OU Sooners football games.  He was a car enthusiast and loved showcasing his newest ride, at one point owning a PT Cruiser decked out with OU gear, including a horn that played ‘Boomer Sooner’ to announce an arrival.   

Dick leaves behind a legacy of generosity, faith, compassion, purpose, humor and unconditional love for his family.

He is survived by his wife Diane; son Phillip and daughter-in-law Karen of Fort Collins, Colorado, and their children Isaac of Fort Collins and Eli of Cheyenne, Wyoming; son Todd and daughter-in-law Sally of Beaver and their sons Blake, his wife Lisa and their son Ryland and daughter Emersyn of Guthrie, Oklahoma, Chase and fiancé Heather Reed of Oklahoma City, and Cole of Beaver; son Brett and daughter-in-law Susan of Forgan and their daughters Jenny and her husband Kirby Laverty and their daughters Kenzie, Kait, Reese and Lawson of Laverne, and Lindsey and her husband Connor Cocklin of Oklahoma City; and son Ty and his partner Ivan Villegas of New York City. Dick was preceded in death by his brother Carl Trippet, who is survived by his wife Kim of Yukon, Oklahoma.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to organizations he supported and was passionate about, including the Beaver County Memorial Hospital, the Beaver Volunteer Fire Department, the Jones and Plummer Trail Museum, the Beaver County Pioneer Library and the Beaver United Methodist Church.

A celebration of life will be planned for a later date to pay tribute to an extraordinary life and legacy.  The days prior to his death were filled with family at his side. 

Anyone familiar with his roster of phrases will recognize his final spoken words: “Now what?”