Obituary for Theodore Joseph Lippold

Theodore Joseph Lippold—known as “Teddy” to those who knew him best—56, of Osceola, IA, passed away at his home on May 30, 2025.

Teddy was born on March 29, 1969, in Des Moines, IA. He was the second of seven children and the firstborn son of Marianne (Meads) Lippold and Eugene Joseph Lippold. He grew up on the east side of Des Moines and graduated from East High School in 1987.

In the winter of 1989, his parents and four youngest siblings moved to Osceola, IA. However, Teddy, along with his sister Christi and brother Kevin, stayed in the family home in Des Moines. The next few years were spent enjoying a fairly carefree life with those siblings—laughing, partying, and making lifelong memories—most especially with his best friend and brother, Kev.

Eventually, Teddy moved down to Osceola, too, and began working alongside his dad in the construction field. He was a very talented worker and became adept at every aspect of the trades—from puddling concrete to framing out houses, from wiring and plumbing to roofing and finish carpentry. He could do it all. Teddy was a jack of all trades. He was intelligent and mechanically inclined. He could rebuild an engine or a clock. He wasn’t afraid to take on anything, and he loved to show others how to do it, too. He could talk you through any repair over the phone and would drop whatever he was doing to come help you when you asked.

Teddy was a constant presence in his little sisters’ lives. He helped them study for tests, went for walks with them in the countryside, encouraged them in their sports, and was there to help them train and improve. He was the loudest and proudest cheerleader in the stands. His little sisters were his best friends.

Teddy loved animals—dogs in particular (though even a cat or two had earned his respect). Over his lifetime, he had countless dogs who were close to him and had him wrapped around their little paws. Warlock, Pretty Girl, Lou, Maggie, Maddie, and Doppy (just to name a few) were some of the special ones he fed a diet of cookies and allowed up on the furniture.

Teddy loved his family. His nieces and nephews definitely had his heart. With so many brothers and sisters, he was given a baker’s dozen of nieces and nephews. He loved each and every one of them with a deep, enduring love. Summer breaks were a favorite time of year for him, as he planned and organized ahead of time to have them come out to the farm for a visit. He wanted them to love spending time with him, so he’d plan extravagant, “redneck” fun. This included tilling up a lane on a hillside and lining it with plastic sheeting to create a slip ’n’ slide over 100 feet long. He built floating docks in the pond to jump and dive from. He constructed scaffolds in the field to target shoot from. One time, he dressed up in a homemade ghillie suit and hid in the timber at night so the kids could have a ‘Bigfoot’ sighting—howling in pain as he trudged through thorn bushes in the muggy dark. He did all of this for them because they were his best friends.

Teddy loved to read. He was a regular at the local library in Osceola. He would go in on a Monday and check out 10–12 books, only to return the following week for another dozen. He always had a book in his hand or in his car, and whenever there was a break in his day—even if only for 2–3 minutes—he’d pick up that book and start reading where he left off.

Teddy, like his dad, was a prayerful man. He prayed constantly. He prayed when he couldn’t sleep, he prayed to get to sleep, and if at any moment there wasn’t a book handy, he prayed instead to fill the time. He also taught his nephews prayers. Each morning before school, while having breakfast, they prayed together.

Teddy was a helper. He helped so many people through so many things. He helped friends, family, and strangers alike. There are countless people we will never even know about whom Teddy reached out to and helped. He helped the homeless. He helped the desperate. He helped those in dangerous situations.

Teddy was funny. He figured out how to laugh about so many things. You could be in the middle of the worst situation, doing the worst project, and he would stand right next to you and embrace the awful with a joke. Before you knew it, you were laughing through the sweat—sometimes tears—and suddenly, things didn’t seem so bad.

Teddy will be remembered as our best friend. He had a lot of best friends in his life, but he didn’t take the phrase lightly. Its meaning wasn’t diminished just because he shared it with many. He would look you in the eye and say, “You’re my best friend.” And you knew it was true. He said it because it was important to him that you knew you were special. He understood what it was like to feel like you don’t matter, and he wanted you to know that you mattered to him.

Teddy, you mattered to us.

We pray you know that now, if you didn’t before. We love you, and we are poorer in spirit without you. We’ve lost our best friend, and so we pray: Till we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Teddy was predeceased by his mother, Marianne, and his father, Gene; his brother Brian; infant sister Anna; and his grandparents, Bill and Mary Lippold and Rusty and Mary Meads.

He is survived by his siblings: Christi Barron (Kit), Kevin Lippold (Michelle), Calli Shields (Jason), Katie Green (Kristopher), and Sarah Mayhew (Matthew); his nieces and nephews: Jessica Lippold, Molly Barron, Justin Lippold, Matthew Kerns (Mariah), Christian Lippold, Alex Barron, Autumn Lippold, Peyton Shields, Sawyer Shields, Nolan Shields, Abel Mayhew, Frankie Mayhew, and Vinny Mayhew; and his great-niece, Audrey Lippold.

Services will be held at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Indianola, IA, on July 29, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. Graveside services will immediately follow at St. Marys Cemetery in St. Marys, IA. A private family gathering will follow at the American Legion Hall in Osceola.

Memorial donations may be sent c/o Sarah Mayhew at 2451 Miami St., Osceola, IA 50213. Any donations received will go toward a memorial stone for Teddy.