10/17/2007:
Evan Edwin Lips, former three-term mayor of Bismarck, was born on this date in 1918. A legacy for Bismarck and North Dakota, Lips was dedicated to community service.
Lips graduated from Bismarck High School in 1936 and went on to excel in football and academics at the University of North Dakota. He was a three-time all-conference, All-American, UND Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, prestigious Sioux Award recipient and All-Century Team member.
He graduated from UND with an education degree and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving in several Pacific conflicts, including Iwo Jima, Guam, Guadalcanal and Bouganville. For his exemplary service, he received the Bronze Star, Legion of Merit and Presidential Unit Citation.
When Lips returned to the U.S. in 1945, he taught in the officers’ school at Quantico, Virginia, returning to Bismarck in April 1946. He married Elsa Kavonius in 1946, and they had three children. Along with working with and later owning Murphy Insurance, he coached football at Bismarck Junior College and St. Mary’s High School and played semi-pro basketball with the Phantoms.
In 1950, Lips launched his political career as a Republican committeeman. He was elected to the first of three four-year terms as Bismarck mayor in 1954 and to the State Senate in 1960, serving until 1998.
While in the Senate, Lips was majority leader, president pro-tempore and chairman of the Appropriations Committee. In 1977, he was named one of the “top 10 legislators in the U.S.” and, in 1984, the Greater North Dakota Association honored him as “Man of the Year.”
Lips was always an earnest supporter for Bismarck, the state of North Dakota, UND and education. He also promoted establishment of the UND medical school and the plan for the Bismarck Civic Center.
During the 2004 presidential election, Lips was one of North Dakota’s electoral votes for President George W. Bush. However, he was too ill at the time to actually cast his vote in person, and a replacement was chosen.
Lips served on many boards and was involved with the United Way, Open Your Heart and Medcenter One Foundation. He held memberships in the American Legion, Rotary, Shriners, Elks, Eagles and VFW.
His wife died in August 1992, and Lips married Marilyn O’Leary Duffey in June 2001. The city of Bismarck and the state of North Dakota lost a true champion and community-minded individual when Evan Lips died on October 17, 2006, at age 86.
by Cathy A. Langemo, WritePlus Inc.