Lorraine A. Tipton, a lawyer and resident of Montgomery County for more than 50 years, died at her Potomac home on July 9.
She had been in frail health for several years and died peacefully of natural causes. Tipton was 94.
Born in Eau Claire, Wisc., Tipton received her law degree from Northwestern Law School and was admitted to the State Bar of Illinois in 1936. While at law school, Tipton became a student and researcher in the pioneering field of aviation law, and was employed beginning in 1936 on the staff of the Northwestern Law School Institute of Air Law and later as an editor of the Journal of Air Law.
She married Northwestern Law School classmate Stuart G. Tipton in 1936, and the couple moved to Washington, D.C. where Stuart Tipton became general counsel to the Civil Aeronautics Board and later president of the Air Transport Association.
At Lorraine Tipton's insistence, the couple purchased acreage in rural Potomac in 1946. Over the next five decades, she was involved in the growth of many Potomac and Montgomery County institutions, including Suburban Hospital, Potomac Country Gardeners, Potomac Valley Bank, Potomac Hunt, The Holton-Arms School and Friends of Great Falls Tavern.
She was active on behalf of numerous other causes, including the Republican Party and charities promoting historic preservation, animal welfare and protection of birds and wildlife.
Tipton's abiding love was for her family and the family's 54-acre home, known as "Galleon's Lap", where she died. Under a development plan approved by the Montgomery County Council last year, the majority of Tipton's land is to be preserved as parkland.
Tipton is survived by three daughters: Judith T. Miller of Sydney, Australia; Ann T. Donnelly of Vancouver, Wash.; and Patience T. Huntwork of Phoenix, Ariz., as well as six grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 27 at 4 p.m. at Potomac United Methodist Church, 10300 Falls Road, Potomac.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Montgomery County Humane Society, 14645 Rothgeb Drive in Rockville or the Friends of Great Falls Tavern, 11725 Piney Meetinghouse Road in Potomac.