Jim Tripp obituary

Contact: Jeanne Baron
Photo of Jim Tripp.

Jim Tripp

Jim Tripp, a staff member in Western Michigan University's Department of Facilities Management, died Dec. 25, 2015. He was 62.

Tripp, a painter/glazier in the maintenance services unit, initially joined the staff in 2001 and had given 14 years of near-continuous service to the University. Survivors include his longtime companion, Pam McMakin, a WMU retiree.

He loved his WMU job and took great pride in his work at the University, but his health required him to stop working in 2014 while awaiting an organ transplant.

The Kalamazoo native is remembered as a family man and an energetic as well as a caring person. Tripp is praised for his calming influence and good sense of humor, and he will be sorely missed.

Remembrances

An open house to celebrate Tripp's life will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, in the Life Story Funeral Home-Betzler, 6080 Stadium Drive in Kalamazoo.

The full family obituary as well as photos and tributes are available on the personal memory page at lifestorynet.com.

Memorial gifts may be made to Reverence Hospice or the Wounded Warrior Project.