Obituary of Marshall Doyle Flippo

Marshall Doyle “Flip” Flippo 91, passed away November 4, 2018 at Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach, Missouri. Flip was born September 2, 1927 in Tuscola, Texas. He was the son of Roy and Gertrude Flippo. Preceded in death by his sisters, Helen June Moore and Onita Shelton.
 

Flip attended school in Wylie Texas, where he was class president and played football and baseball.  After school, he joined the Navy during World War II where he served on the USS Piedmont, USS Lander and USS Dixie and played baseball for the them after the war was over.
 

After serving, he returned to Abilene in 1949 and married Neeca Lee Redus. They started taking square dance lessons in 1951 and he started calling dances in 1952. After vacationing at Kirkwood Lodge in 1959, he was hired in 1962 as entertainment director leading to a 40-year history at the lodge including being a part owner. In 1963 he and Neeca gave birth to their only son John. Flip would work 6 months at the lodge when it was open and spend the other 6 months touring the world calling square dances in the US, Japan and Germany.
 

He recorded for Blue Star and Chaparral as well as guest recordings for several other companies. He sold over a million square dance records, receiving gold records for “The Auctioneer” and “Every Street’s A Boulevard”. He has received just about every award there is in square dancing including the prestigious Milestone Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. Flip was also a founding member of Callerlab, the governing body of square dancing.
 

In 2000, Flip moved to Tucson, Arizona to be the resident caller at the Rincon West RV Park where he stayed until 2018. Then he moved back to Osage Beach to live with his son and his wife, John and Shelly.
 

Flip was an avid golfer and water skier and loved to watch the Dallas Cowboys play. Flip was world famous for his sense of humor and love for people. He is survived by his son, John and daughter in law, Shelly. 

Memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, November 26, 2018 at Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home, 5701 Highway 277 South, Abilene, Texas 79606.  There will also be a graveside service at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, November 26, 2018 at Elmwood Memorial Park, 5726 Hwy 277 South, Abilene, Texas.