Glenn Arthur Zipp, 86, formerly of Peoria, died on Saturday, February 17, 2024 in Venice, Florida. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Julie Colwell Zipp, along with his children, Sibylle Lahood, Christopher Zipp (Julz), Jennifer Tyre (Dan), Alexander Zipp (Dr. Michelle Pennington) and Melanie Anne Remacle; his grandchildren, Ryan, Trevor, Jared, Brianna, Aeris, Holden, Ivy, Catalina and Theron; and two great-grandchildren.
Glenn was born on January 25, 1938 in Merrill, Wisconsin to Fred and Olga Jirovec Zipp, both deceased. He was one of seven children sharing the love of his parents with brothers Robert, Phil (Caroline), Lawrence (Mary), Patrick (Linda), and had two sisters, Marge (Phillip) Kamke and Debbie (Tim) Symonds.
Glenn earned a Baccalaureate degree at Wisconsin State College and a Master of Arts at the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Glenn was an active alumnus of his graduate school and served on its Alumni Board of Directors for many years, including President. In 2003, he received an ILIR Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of his alumni service and professional accomplishments. His many affiliations and civic activities included the Universalist Unitarian Church of Peoria, in which he served in various positions, including President of the Board. He is a past President of the Peoria Chapter of ACLU; past President of the Peoria Planned Parenthood Chapter; founding member of the Friends of Glen Oak Zoo (predecessor to the Peoria Zoological Society); member of the Illinois Valley Yacht and Canoe Club; long-time Board member of the Central Illinois Landmarks Foundation; Board member of the Contemporary Arts Center; and past Commissioner of the Peoria Housing Commission, where he served as Chairman. Two Peoria civic accomplishments that he was most proud of were serving as Fundraising Committee Chair for the successful campaign to build an animal hospital at the Glen Oak Zoo, and serving as a member of the committee that developed the Veterans Memorial Park adjacent to the Grand Army of the Republic Hall in downtown Peoria.
Glenn’s professional career was primarily with the National Labor Relations Board, a regulatory agency of the Federal Government. Starting as a Field Examiner in 1964, he held various supervisory positions with the Chicago, Cincinnati and Peoria offices, the latter of which he headed for 25 years before his retirement in October of 2000 as Regional Director. While with the NLRB, he was appointed a member of the Federal Government’s Senior Executive Service. He was the first in his agency to be selected for a SES sabbatical, which he devoted to teaching the fall semester at U of I and for 6 months as a Visiting Fellow at Templeton College, Oxford University in the United Kingdom. During his 38-year Federal Civil Service career, Glenn taught as a part-time instructor at Sangamon State University (Peoria Campus), Xavier University in Cincinnati, and for 12 years at Bradley University in Peoria. After his retirement from the NLRB, he was self-employed for 18 years as an arbitrator-mentor of employment disputes in the private and public sectors.
Glenn enjoyed spending time with his family, many trips back to Wisconsin, reading, traveling and enjoying art. They lived 20 winters in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and his last five winters in Venice, Florida, He was an avid sailor and a member of the IVY Club IORF racing fleet. For 25 years, he was a runner and member of the Illinois Valley Striders Club.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Feed the Hungry San Miguel at https://www.feedthehungrysma.org/.
There will be a celebration of Glenn’s life in Peoria to be determined at a later date.