Thomas Nathan Shipley Cause of Death: Thomas Nathan Shipley Obituary

 Born in Youngstown, Ohio, on April 1, 1941, Thomas Nathan Shipley, 84, of Rolla, Missouri, passed away at MU University Hospital in Columbia, Missouri, on Sunday, August 24, 2025.

Tom's life revolved around romance, passion, love, and inventiveness. Everything centered on his art, his family, his house, and the enigma of life itself. His wife, kids, daughter-in-law, and the house they constructed in the woods were the most important things in his life.

He had a strong passion for all forms of creativity, including writing, film, and music. Passion drove every song he created and performed, every essay he wrote, and every video he produced. And each of them had a story to tell. Tom had a million stories, and he was the best storyteller in the world! There were instances when reaching the finish simply required patience.

Tom was insatiably curious. He was constantly prepared to visit a new location. He enjoyed investigating new ideas and treating age-old knowledge as though it were brand-new.  Fishing on water he had never fished before was his motivation. A food he had never tried? Go ahead and do it. There was no denying his desire for adventure. 

Tom was a civil activist with a political bent. Someone who would tell the truth to those in positions of authority, THE truth to his family, and HIS truth to everybody who would listen.

He was married to Jan E. Shipley (Hoeffken) on August 29, 1981, and she is his devoted wife of 44 years. He has two sons, Marc Ryan Shipley and Matthew W. (Ashley) Shipley, two daughters from a former marriage, Deborah and Lisabeth, and their kids.