Ray Lipps is the son of the late Susan Mahler and Joe Lipps of London, Kentucky. Lipps and his twin brother, Ralph, were a full year older than their younger brother, Abner. On opening day of first grade their father summoned the twins to turn around while walking the lane to school. He reasoned the boys to sit out as Abner could enroll with them the following year. The three brothers continued school together through college.
The Reverend Kendall Hatton, Wayne Bowling and William Baker encouraged the Lipps to pursue an education at Cumberland College, now University of the Cumberlands, in Williamsburg, Kentucky. Upon graduation from Bush High School in 1966, the brothers were "Off to College in a Cattle Truck", the subsequent title of Ray's 2014 book. Among their Bush graduating class, a remarkable 18 students or one-third of the class enrolled at Cumberland.
Life was constantly evolving for the Lipps brothers but one constant over the years remained their love of and loyalty to Cumberland College. The campus, faculty, staff and students continue to receive immeasurable support from Ray, Ralph and Abner.
While the Athletic Hall of Fame is filled with inductees who have garnered individual and team records, Ray has missed only one UC Homecoming since arriving on campus and has missed only one Athletic Hall of Fame since the program's inception in 1996.
Ray stands out among the crowd with his enthusiasm, salesmanship, and service leadership, serving three times as President and holding other key roles on the Alumni Association Board of Directors since graduating in 1970. Ray started the Alumni Board of Directors Scholarship Art Auction in 1985, a tradition that continues today. His donated framed art across campus, proceeds from the annual Homecoming and AHOF auctions and the 2015 donation of the Biblical Art Showcase numbering 278 items amounts to well over $650,000.00. Much of this amount has been directed toward the alumni legacy scholarships, the Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame and the Alumni Board Special Projects.
Lipps and fellow Alumni Board Member, Jerry Connell, gave rise to the idea of starting the Athletic Hall of Fame while on a board retreat. They were original members of the Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame Committee started in 1996. Lipps remains on the committee and has been unquestionably the program's most ardent supporter.
At the dedication of the Ray Lipps Classroom at the Hutton School of Business in 2007, Ray welcomed those gathered with an unforgettable quote, "I am glad to be a graduate of University of the Cumberlands, where 'all of the Indians are Patriots'", referring to the school's former and current mascots. During Founders' Day Convocation in 2011 and because of his lifetime of support and service to UC, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to bestow upon Ray Lipps the Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts Degree. He was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Honor in 1991 and received the J. M. Boswell Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1999. As part of the Homecoming 125th Anniversary Celebration in 2013, the University named the Alumni Hall of Honor in honor of Ray Lipps. However, Lipps considers among his greatest contribution to the University, the countless students he recruited as an Admissions Officer for an opportunity to earn a quality education and a chance to reach their full potential.
In 1981, Ray founded Esquire Enterprises and in 1985 he started Esquire Galleries in Powell, Tennessee. Early on Lipps participated in approximately 200-225 auctions annually. Esquire sells 2,500 pieces of framed art, framed documents, framed antique documents and framed artifacts each month at auction throughout the eastern United States. Because of his thirst for service and inspired by a sightless uncle who invented the walking cane for the blind, Ray became a dedicated member of the Lions Club of Farragut, Tennessee.
A longtime resident of both Powell and Knoxville, Tennessee, Ray is married to the former Patricia Skeen-Artman, his partner in Esquire Galleries and a proud University of the Cumberlands Honorary Alumnae. Together they have three children and eleven grandchildren. Ray's daughter, Denise Bender Sesler, is a 1989 Cumberland alumnae.
