Dean Gipp

Funeral services and a Mass of Christian Burial for Dean Gipp, 75, of Bettendorf, will be 10:30 am on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, Bettendorf. Burial will be in Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Davenport. Visitation will be 4-6 pm Wednesday at the Halligan-McCabe-Devries Funeral Home, Davenport. There will be additional visitation from 9:30-10:15 am on Thursday at the church.

Mr. Gipp passed away Thursday, March 6, 2025, at the University of Iowa Hospital.

Dean Arnold Gipp was born May 27, 1949, in Decorah, Iowa, the youngest of five sons to Alvin Herman Wilhelm and Jeanette (Woldum) Gipp. He grew up on the family farm in Decorah. He graduated from Luther College in 1971 with degrees in Mathematics and Accounting. After college, he started work at Lake Center Industries in Winona, Minnesota where he met his future wife, Cyndi Speltz. Dean & Cyndi were married May 17th, 1975, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Rollingstone, Minnesota. They were blessed with two children, Brian and Julia. The family moved to Cedar Falls, Iowa, in 1979 when Dean began work as an accountant for Deere & Company. They moved to Bettendorf in 2013 where he retired from Deere & Company in 2016. 

He had a positive impact on many lives through his volunteerism at the Cedar Basin Jazz Fest in Cedar Falls, the Iowa Irish Fest in Waterloo, Habitat for Humanity, the Adler Theater, The German American Heritage Center, mentoring new accounting hires, and most recently chaperoning three Honor Flights. He always had a smile on his face, and he hardly went anywhere that he wasn’t warmly greeted by at least one friend. 

Above all, he loved spending time with his family, including playing cribbage and pool, making lefse with his family and teaching others the process, and doing tricks with his granddog Wembley. He also enjoyed traveling to visit friends and relatives. Highlights include visiting the ancestral farm with his brothers in Norway, visiting Cyndi’s relatives in Luxembourg, and attending a concert at the Stade de France. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Habitat for Humanity. 

Dean is survived by his son Brian Gipp (Carol McGrath), Cedar Rapids; daughter Julia (Andrew) Galvan, Davenport; and brothers John (Karen), Jerry (Elaine), and Chuck (Ranae) Gipp all of Decorah.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 43 years, Cyndi, his parents, and his brother Jim.