Have you ever noticed there are certain events, items or people, that are synonymous with towns all around the area, and for that fact, all around our country? Cities have become associated with a “particular” entity and will forever be tied to it. For instance, with the mention of the Golden Lamb restaurant, people immediately think of the city of Lebanon, or The Wooden Shoe and Minster comes to mind. Closer to home, a reference to Coldwater Café or Sam & Ethel’s and people think of Tipp City. With events, it’s the same. We have all become familiar with the “Troy” Strawberry Festival, the “Bradford” Pumpkin Festival and our own “Tipp City” Mum Festival. 

This kind of association, even more importantly, applies to those notable individuals who have helped bring a city to prominence. In fact, no matter where you travel, many cities even boast on signs at the entrance of their community of renowned personalities who once called that city home. Some really famous names quickly come to mind such as the Wright Brothers and their association with the city of Dayton, Neil Armstrong with Wapakoneta or Annie Oakley and the city of Greenville. Regardless of how well these people are known, they define a community and make it what it is. There’s one such name who helped make Tipp City what it is today and whom people still fondly remember. That person was a great advocate for Tipp City. Her name is Katherine Anne Greer Lobo, or whom most called “Kitty”. 

Kitty grew up as a lively young girl in Paris, KY - a place affectionately known as bluegrass country. Among the rolling meadows and sunny skies, she lived there with her parents and four brothers. Kitty was fond of her roots and enjoyed being out in the big countryside. The father of her childhood best friend was big into thoroughbred racing and farming, and the farm soon became part of Kitty’s life. 

Fast forward, to January 24, 1970, Kitty married Dave Lobo and then in 1977, the family moved to Tipp City. It was here where Tracy, Erin, and David, Kitty’s three children, helped round out the family. Kitty was attracted to Tipp City because of the high-quality schools, the love of tree-lined streets, and the thought of being part of a small community. Living in an old house with big stairs and sloped ceiling bedrooms, situated a block away from Broadway Elementary with a great playground, was a perfect setting for the Lobo family. This felt like the center of things in small-town America.

Kitty’s main focus was her family and the rearing of her children. She had a passion for her children doing their best and loved being a mother. She was genuinely interested in connecting with all children on a personal level. This led her to open her home as a daycare center where she could spend quality time with not only her children but other children in the community. She was an inspiration throughout our town.

Kitty’s husband, Dave, was an insurance broker, and family was important to him as well. He made it a priority to be home by 5:30 every day so he could be involved in family activities. As one might suspect, family was the central focal point for the Lobos. Drew Eberle, a family friend and Tippecanoe alumnus, summed it up well by saying: “She was so amazing with young people that she made them [me] feel like we had something important to say. I try to listen to my students today with the same kind of kindness and enthusiasm which Kitty possessed.” That’s the way Kitty treated all with whom she came in contact.

As her children grew and expanded in community activities, Kitty felt the desire to be just as involved in the community as when her children were young. After a stint writing a column for the Dayton Daily News, she heard about the Communications Coordinator for Tipp City Schools position. The rest is history as the fit was perfect and it added that “community” part back into Kitty’s life. 

Kitty was proud to work with Tipp City Schools and loved sharing her vision of the school district within the community. Her favorite part of the job was interacting with students. She was inspired by seeing young people engrossed in their passions. 

Kitty held an English degree from Wright State University, and words, ideas, and books gave her much joy. Even late into the evenings, she nourished her soul by staying up late reading. Kitty’s daughter, Tracy, reflects on a quote from Maya Angelou, which summed up one of her mother’s many qualities: “'I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.' Kitty had a heart for people, was known for her kindness and is remembered as someone who made them feel seen, valued, and loved.”

With Kitty’s passing, the family knew they needed to give back to the community in a way that would honor their mother. One such way was the establishment of The Katherine G. Lobo Memorial Scholarship Fund. This fund is directed toward Tippecanoe High School graduating seniors who plan on attending a 4-year college or university, centered with Kitty’s ideologies in mind. These beliefs, which are the impetus in students’ lives today, push all to be their best, promote engagement throughout the community, and provide encouragement by things that are deeply meaningful. This is exactly what Kitty would have wanted.

Tara Dixon Engle, editor of the Tippecanoe Gazette at the time of Kitty’s passing, wrote these words in tribute.  “A talented Communications Coordinator of the Tippecanoe School System, Kitty’s presence in the schools helped to forge and promote the district’s reputation for excellence. Her ready smile and gentle approach were familiar and comforting to students, teachers, and parents alike -- and her gift with the written word was both impressive and inspiring.”

Kitty is remembered for her love and care for others and dedication to serving Tipp City Schools and the community. So, the next time you stroll through town, be grateful for Kitty’s contribution while remembering the legacy each of us are leaving. Whether it’s through helping fund an endowment, being involved in activities or boards to support our city, or simply eating at a local diner, we’re all part of building a stronger and more vibrant small town community whether we realize it or not. Just ask any of Kitty’s children.

Thanks to Tipp City Foundation Board Member, Bruce McKenzie, for crafting this lovely tribute to Kitty Lobo!

After 50 Years of Involvement, Chamberlain Stepping Away From Tipp City Foundation

Jesse Chamberlain saw the Tipp City Foundation grow from giving hundreds to thousands of dollars a year and expand its influence from primarily assisting the schools to touching nonprofit organizations across the community.

"The foundation has been a catalyst for the town," said Chamberlain who joined the foundation as its secretary on Feb. 25, 1970, shortly after coming to town to work as a bank branch manager.

He will say goodbye to the foundation board service in March, marking 50 years of foundation involvement.

“Jess is a quiet man. He is also a student of the community around him. Don’t let his quiet demeanor bely his quick understanding of how the foundation’s impact has changed in those years,” said Heather Bailey of the foundation board.

Chamberlain’s foundation involvement began when he was asked by former foundation president Penny Finch to fill a vacancy in the foundation secretary position. As a newcomer to the community, he was looking for ways to meet people and develop the new bank branch.

“He said, ‘Would you like it?’ I said, ‘I have never been a secretary in my life. I don’t know how to start.’ He said, ‘We have one meeting a year,’” Chamberlain recalled.

He saw accepting the position as a way to meet people in the community.

The foundation at the time was “pretty small” with a few thousand dollars under its responsibility. “It was a real nice organization. It was kind of like a little family,” Chamberlain said.

“One of the nice things we did was we never had much money to delegate for grants so we would have a meeting one day and another day we would have a get together and take pictures of the check distributions,” he said.

The foundation primarily made grants to the schools for projects for several years. The scope of its involvement changed following the death of Helen Timmer, a foundation board member, who in 1987 left the foundation a check for $1 million. Miss Timmer directed that her money be used “to do the best for Tipp City and help its people,” according to meeting minutes prepared by Chamberlain.

“We became a different type of organization,” he said during a February interview. “Instead of hundreds, we could give thousands of dollars. We also diversified over the years where that money goes.”

The foundation board now meets quarterly to conduct the business of the foundation with about $6 million and a growing number of funds. Grants in 1970 totaled $1,500. This year, they will exceed $118,000.

The grants benefit nonprofits at work in Tipp City as well as Monroe and Bethel townships.

“I think we’ve made Tipp City a little more of a city because we did a lot of things for the school and we did a lot of things for community services and its work,” Chamberlain said. “It (the foundation) is one more thing that helps glue the town together.”

I was intrigued a few weeks back as my wife and I were out hiking and enjoying the scenery. There are some things in life that are pretty amazing. These are common things that we see at various times, but every now and then there’s an uncommon feature or element to these things. What am I talking about? Did you know that it takes a pineapple TWO YEARS to grow (not that I saw any growing at that time), whereas most other fruit bearing plants grow their particular fruit in less than 2/3rds of that time; or that the odds of finding a four-leaf clover is 1 in 10,000. And in fact, if you do find a four-leaf clover, chances are you are more likely to find a second one close by as it’s an inherited genetic mutation of the plant, which spreads close to another clover plant.

That got me thinking about another thing that’s fairly common. That’s the last name Miller. Just like “Smith…Jones…Johnson” or “Davis”, we all grew up with someone with one of those last names or probably know of someone who carries a fairly common name. This reminded me of a man I know by the name John Miller…John A. Miller. 

John comes from a long line of Millers, but yet is unique in his own right and in many ways. One way which distinguishes this “John Miller” from many other “Millers” you might know today is that this Miller is involved with the Tipp City Foundation. The fund John is involved with is aptly named; “The John S. & Louise T. Miller Memorial Scholarship Fund” and was originally set up in 1983, by Virginia Rockefeller. Virginia was John and Louise Miller’s daughter, who also happens to be this “John Miller’s” aunt.

The Miller scholarship was one of the first, if not the first scholarship fund, to be set up at Bethel school. Its intent was to honor the Bethel township’s farming family by providing scholarships to graduates of that school. Originally handled by the Bethel school, but with limitations on how the school could invest the money, it was later moved to The Dayton Foundation in 1999. Following that, in 2007, the fund was moved to the Troy Foundation, which later separated into the Tipp City Foundation.

Fast forward to the present time and through this endowment, the Miller Memorial Scholarship Fund has been awarded every year since 1984. That’s over 35 years since the original amount of $10,000 was provided to start the fund. While “need” is a primary driver, it’s the scholarship’s interest in the science and medical fields which help fulfill the criterion used for this gift. Throughout the years, other gifts have been given by family members, which has helped grow the fund along with a final donation given upon the death of Mrs. Rockefeller.

This is one of those funds where the term “it keeps on giving” appropriately fits.  Just imagine how many students have been impacted by the generosity of the Millers. John has helped facilitate this fund through many years and is the impetus for driving it forward by being a strong advocate for building a better community through giving. He is an uncommon “Miller” with a common pursuit. Students from all walks of life, various backgrounds with divergent interests, all with dreams of their own who have had their direction in life changed or altered in one way or another. 

So, the next time you’re out and see something which looks fairly common, just remember that there could be something rather “uncommon” in the commonality. You just need to look for it. At least, that’s how I will look at things, especially now when I hear the name Miller! 

I’m going to go on another hike now. Maybe I’ll see a bald eagle? After all, they’re uncommon in our area, but becoming more common every day!

Thanks to Tipp City Foundation Board Member, Bruce McKenzie, for crafting this lovely tribute to the Millers!