Lois Lipnik, of Naples, remembered as advocate for kids, social causes, arts

Lois Wertheimer Lipnik never stopped fighting for social causes, never stopped learning and never stopped loving the arts. 

“She would get herself in trouble," recalled her husband, Dr. Morris Lipnik, a recently retired dermatologist. 

When his wife was doing social work in Baltimore after World War II, she would invite her black companions to come to lunch with her in the segregated city.

"Baltimore was a very closed town as far as race," he said.

However, Lois Lipnik, who died Aug. 26 at 93, was committed to equality. While her husband was serving as a medical officer for Fort George G. Meade, she did field work for a hearing specialist and tested all the children in Baltimore schools. 

"She found two deaf kids in just about every class," he marveled.

Lois Lipnik's social work credentials came from another of the qualities her husband and two daughters, Susan and Carol, valued: her intelligence. Lois Lipnik was a lifelong member of MENSA, the worldwide organization for high-IQ individuals.

"She was going to be a teacher until two months before she received her degree, when she decided she couldn't do that repetitive stuff," Morris Lipnik recalled. "She saw an ad for social work. It required testing. She'd never had any courses at all, but she passed the test. She was that brilliant."

"Whenever there was a problem, she had five answers that made me say, 'Why didn't I think of that?' " he said. 

Lois Lipnik's facility with speech might have come from her undergraduate degree in it from Northwestern University, where the student talent was formidable. Her classmates included actors Patricia Neal, Martha Hyer, Cloris Leachman and Charlton Heston.

She also had a master of arts degree from Wayne State University, and the Detroit native supported the Detroit Institute of Arts in her home city. As a child, she watched the famous artist Diego Rivera paint its murals.

Her interest in theater led to a term as president of the Naples Players Theater Guild and 15 years on the board of Artis—Naples, beginning during its years as the Philharmonic Center for the Arts. 

John Sorey, executive director of Naples Players, recalled that Lois Lipnik came with her husband to his meetings when he was on the Players' board of directors.

"He was the board member, but she talked more. She was very participative," Sorey said.

Myra Janco Daniels, who was executive director the Philharmonic Center for the Arts, remembered her tenure on the board. She called Lois Lipnik "not a really talky person. ... She would listen at a board meeting and she would analyze," she said.

"When she thought it was time for her to dig in and let go, she did. She was a very keen observer and loved to have a good, solid debate.

"We need more people like Lois — thinkers, doers, care-ers."

That strength might have been what first attracted her husband. Morris Lipnik met Lois Wertheimer when he was called in to be a blind date for her friend.

"But the two of us really kind of struck it off," he said. 

They married the year he became a doctor. After his military service, they lived in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, until Morris Lipnik created a part-time dermatology practice in Naples. It eventually became full time.

Lois Lipnik embraced her new home, becoming a member of The Salvation Army Advisory Council, the Holocaust Museum board of trustees and the NCH Healthcare Foundation Board, among others.

The couple played bridge and tennis, and her husband remembers her love for dancing.

Lois Lipnik, with wavy blond hair and chestnut eyes, also had impeccable style, he said.

"Lois said she couldn’t draw, but she had a tremendous sense of color," he said. "She matched everything — jewelry had to match, glasses, everything."

Almost every one of them had a hat as well; 50 were in her collection. 

"Her funeral was more like a party," Morris Lipnik said. "We spread her hats around, and the people who came were invited to take one of the hats home as something to remember her by."

She was interred at Naples Memorial Gardens. Donations can be made to Artis—Naples or the charity of one's choice.