John Rex Shipp, educator, community volunteer
John Rex Shipp, 78, died peacefully after a lengthy illness Thursday, April 18, 2024, in San Marcos, Texas. Previously, he resided in Lewes, McLean, Va., and Mexico City, Mexico. Rex was born Nov. 11, 1945, in Shallowater, Texas.
Rex earned a bachelor’s degree at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and an MEd at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. His successful education career spanned 42 years in local school districts in Dallas, Pecos, and Lubbock, Texas, as well as in Alamogordo, N.M., where he taught special education classes in kindergarten through sixth grade. He also served at the Education Service Center in Lubbock, Texas, Texas State School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and the Texas Education Agency in Austin, Texas.
After relocating to the D.C. area in 1999, Rex continued his career in education at the U.S. Department of Education. He joined the Office of Special Education Programs as a state contact, providing oversight of and technical assistance to state educational agencies on all matters related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Later, he became the project officer for the regional resource center program, shepherding the program into a national model for technical assistance. Rex retired in 2011 after having made a tremendous impact on the lives of infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and their families.
Prior to retirement, Rex moved to Rehoboth and then to Lewes. He enjoyed volunteering at the Historic Lewes Farmers Market, especially working at the market’s SNAP table, volunteering with the Village Volunteers in Lewes assisting older neighbors to live on their own, having Sunday morning breakfasts with his many friends, and working part time for several years at The Soap Fairy in Milford and Lavender Fields at Warrington Manor in Milton.
Rex was predeceased by his parents, John George Shipp and Nina Wright Shipp.
He is survived by his son, Blake Shipp, his wife Rachel Shipp, and their children Addison and Hayden; and his son, Marc Shipp, his wife Amy Shipp, and their children Elliot and Theo. He is also survived by three sisters, Barbara Ahlquist (California); Jane Morris and Jeanie Ford (Texas).
The family suggests that those who wish to donate in remembrance of Rex, contribute to Historic Lewes Farmers Market, P.O.Box 185, Nassau, DE 19969; and Village Volunteers, 16686 Kings Hwy., Ste. B, Lewes, DE 19958.
