By Staff
Mrs. Kate Jackson Pipkin, 88, died Friday, July 27, 2001, in Birmingham.
She was born in Crenshaw County, Ala., on April 23, 1913.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Irene Owens and Johnnie M. Jackson; by her husband of 48 years, James W. Pipkin, Sr.; by her brothers, Walter, Donald and John Jackson; and by her sisters, Gladys Cotney and Myrlene Brunson.
Pipkin is survived by her son, James W. and Roberta Pipkin Jr. of Houston; her daughter, Jacqueline Bailey of Birmingham; and her grandchildren, Jason Bailey, Brooke Jantz, Barclay Bailey, Emily Pipkin and Michael Pipkin.
Pipkin was a beloved and respected educator in Alabama and Florida for more than 40 years. She received her undergraduate degree from Troy State and later earned her master's degree from Florida State University. She also studied at Columbia University in New York City and did advanced graduate work at the University of Southern Mississippi.
She taught every grade from second through twelfth in Laurel Hill, Walnut Hill and Pensacola, Fla., and in Atmore, before beginning an administrative career as a principal at Beulah Elementary and N.B. Cook Elementary in Pensacola.
After she retired from the State of Florida and returned to Atmore, Mrs. Pipkin served as the principal of A.C. Moore School. She later became superintendent and successfully led the city's schools through integration during the 1970s.
She was a devoted member of Lakeside Baptist Church in Birmingham where she was active in the Ruth Sunday School Class and the Women's Missionary Union. She was honored with the Naomi Fellowship by the church deacons and wives. She also had been a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, a society of professional educators.
Pipkin was a loving, devoted daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, relative and friend. She will be missed, but those who knew her take comfort in the power of her strong religious faith.
Services were held Monday, July 30, 2001, 2 p.m., at the Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel, with the Rev. Buddy Morrow officiating.
Burial was in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Memorial gifts in Kate Pipkin's name may be made to Lakeside Baptist Church, 2865 Old Rocky Ridge Road, Birmingham AL 35243.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home was in charge of all arrangements.