Obituaries
Out of this cauldron of turmoil one might have expected David to emerge as a martial figure. Instead, David developed as a man of gentle wisdom, of compassion, of good judgment, a professional counselor, as well as an advisor to family and friends alike. While David trained all his life for this role, one could only have achieved his understanding of the human psyche with an innate ability and empathy.
David took his undergraduate and PhD studies in psychology and then continued his studies and teaching for the rest of this life, specializing in psychodrama, where he was one of its leading practitioners. His CV extends to more than 25 pages of articles, lectures and programs given around the world. Among other positions, he served as director of the Behavior Simulation Program at the University of Chicago, Research Professor at Roosevelt University and in many teaching and research capacities at Bar Ilan University in Israel where David had taken his undergraduate degree.
It was psychodrama which brought Barbara and David together in 1973 when both participated in a program in Beacon, New York given by one of physchodrama’s preeminent authorities. When David returned to Israel and wrote to Barbara, she soon turned and planned a trip to Egypt into an extended visit to Israel, which led to their marriage the following year.
When Barbara’s father Charles Levy died, the Board of the Charles Levy Company entertained the sale of the family business. David recognized the importance that the company might be in Barbara’s life and argued to hold off a decision to sell so that Barbara could have the time and opportunity to make that decision herself. And then, when Barbara decided to retain the business, David gave up his University career in Israel so that Barbara would not be an absentee owner and could have her chance at the helm of the Charles Levy Company. He gave Barbara the love and encouragement she needed to develop her own talents and passions and the room to be her own person.
His insights about people applied equally as well in business decisions as it did in his therapeutic practice. He proved that again in his role with the Joffrey Ballet Company. As chairman of the Joffrey Board, David fought for it to remain as an independent company based in Chicago and Shepherded the company through financial and organizational difficulties. Without David’s courage, leadership and wisdom, the Joffrey would not have survived as one of America’s premier dance companies, let alone in Chicago, as an independent entity.
David’s profession, his service on the Charles Levy Company Board his love of dance, music, the arts, history and all facets of culture were much of David’s essence. But at the core of his being was a love and devotion to his family - Barbara, his mother Hulda, his children Talia and Anthony, Tamar and Elan, his grandchildren Anya and Eli and his sister, Nina and her children. They reciprocated that love and devotion. One of the David’s legacies is that Talia and Tamar married men deeply imbued with qualities similar to that of their father. As testimony to his devotion to family, and in spite of his illness, just a few months ago, David traveled to New Jersey to be present at his grandson Eli’s bris.
The role David had in the lives of his family was profound. As a son and brother, he was a constant visitor to Israel to be with his family there, and if he wasn’t physically present, he was on the phone with his sister, Nina, virtually every Saturday. As a father, David was a nurturing parent. Talia and Tamar truly were the light of his life and each was the source of enormous pride as David recognized the values his daughters possess. Walking them down the aisles at their weddings was one of the great highlights of David’s life for he knew then that his daughters had selected partners who, like he and Barbara, shared both love and ideals that would encourage each of them to be the best person that they could be. And the addition of Anya and Eli in David’s life added a sweetness that only grandchildren can bring.
Then there was David’s legion of friends. These last weeks calls came in from around the world, the callers wanting to know about David and talk to him if possible. And supporting David and Barbara here in Chicago were Jeannie and Fred, Harriet and Irwin, and many, many others, friends who were available at hospital and home, day or night, for a meal or a chat or a cry.
David’s sabre spirit showed as he put up a valiant battle these last several months fighting his cancer every step of the way. He handled his approaching death with grace and equanimity. He maintained his sense of humor. When Barbara asked him if there was anything special he wanted mentioned in his obituary, he responded “surprise me.” In his last days he was able to talk and say goodbye to so many whom he love and who loved him. David was at peace.
Not long ago I read “Class of 1846,” the story of the West Point class of that year that produced so many Civil War leaders. I came across this passage concerning Turner Ashby, a confederate hero, who had just been killed, a passage which applies as well to David:
“Ashby is gone. He has passed the picket line that is posted along the silent river. He is tenting tonight on the eternal camping ground that lies beyond the mist, where no more revelries will disturb his peaceful rest or sounding charge will summon him again.”
And so we say goodbye to David Kipper. He will live on in our hearts and memories, his monument is of neither stone nor steel, but rather his warmth, his humor, his uncommon courage and the rich memories and experiences we have shared with him. That is our legacy.
David, we will miss you, but you will continue to inspire us.
You taught us how to live. You taught us how to die.
David A. Kipper, psychologist and Joffrey Ballet patron, dies at 71
December 3, 2010
By Hedy Weiss, Dance Critic
By profession, David A. Kipper was a clinical psychologist who, since 1995, held the position of Research Professor of Psychology at Roosevelt University’s School of Psychology. His particular interests in the field involved role playing, psychodrama, small groups, experimental therapy, psychological trauma and the relation between emotional arousal and action.
It is in that latter category that an important key to Kipper’s character can be found, for along with his wife, Barbara Levy Kipper, he was a passionate fan of dance. The couple rarely missed a performance by the Joffrey Ballet, and invariably you could see the glow of appreciation and pride on their faces following the company’s opening night performances.
Mr. Kipper’s love of the Joffrey Ballet dated back several decades, and was rooted in the deep friendship that existed between Robert Joffrey and Ruth Levy, Barbara Kipper’s mother. In the 1990s, David and Barbara Kipper were among a group of Chicagoans that also included Bruce Sagan and Fred Eychaner, who were determined to move the then financially troubled dance company from its longtime home in New York to Chicago, and to assure that the troupe would become one of the jewels in this city’s cultural crown.
Mr. Kipper, who served as president of the Joffrey board from 1992-98, as director of its Executive Committee from 1990-98, and was named its “Life Director’ in 1998, died Thursday night in home hospice care, surrounded by his wife, his two daughters — Talia Kipper Ausiello of New Jersey and Tamara Jacoby of Chicago — and his sister, Nina Gruner, of Israel. He was 71. Mr. Kipper had been suffering from Merkel Cell carcinoma for nearly two years.
“David became involved with the Joffrey through Barbara,” said Ashley Wheater, artistic director of the Joffrey Ballet, who is in St. Louis this week, where the company is performing 'The Nutcracker.' But once the decision was made that the Joffrey’s future was to be in Chicago, he really took it upon himself to spearhead that future. And both he and Barbara did all they could to stabilize the company, with the trucks from Barbara’s company [Chas. Levy Company, LLC, a major distributor of magazines and books in the U.S.], moving us lock, stock and barrel from New York to Chicago. The two of them were just incredibly generous to us in many ways.
“Even this fall, when he was quite ill, he came to our Balanchine-Robbins-Wheeldon program at the Auditorium, and told me how much he loved it.”
Mr. Kipper, who was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, received his undergraduate degree in psychology at Israel’s Bar Ilan University and earned his doctorate at the University of Durham in England. He began his academic career at Bar Ilan, and while at the university co-founded the school’s Diploma in Music Therapy.
Prior to his appointment as professor at Roosevelt University, Kipper was associated with the University of Chicago.
Mr. Kipper, who was widely published in professional journals, served as a consultant to management in business and industry. In addition to the Joffrey, he was involved with the Anti-Defamation League, the America-Jewish Congress, the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
“This is a tremendous loss for the city and me personally,” said Fred Eychaner, current chairman of the Joffrey board. “David dared to dream the impossible dream of establishing a world-class ballet company in our city. My solace is that he lived to see the Joffrey flourish.”
Wheater, who noted that one of the three main studios in the Joffrey Tower — the company’s handsome permanent home in the Loop — was named for the Kippers, recalled that David’s psychological training had a practical application early in his own tenure at the Joffrey.
“He was very helpful in telling me not to panic about the state of things,” said Wheater. “He reminded me that the company had come a long way already, and though it was more than a half century old, it really was still a baby in terms of its life in Chicago.”
In addition to his wife, daughters and sister, Mr. Kipper is survived by two grandchildren, Anya Rose and Eli.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at Anshe Emmet Synagogue, 3751 N. Broadway. Donations in Dr. Kipper’s name should be made to the Joffrey Ballet. Plans for a memorial will
Dr. David A. Kipper, 1939-2010
Psychologist and philanthropist helped bring Joffrey Ballet to Chicago
December 03, 2010
By Margaret Ramirez,Tribune reporter
Dr. David A. Kipper, 71, a clinical psychologist, research professor and philanthropist who was instrumental in bringing the Joffrey Ballet to Chicago, died of cancer Thursday, Dec. 2, in his Chicago home, said his wife, Barbara Levy Kipper.
Through his 30 years as a psychotherapist, Dr. Kipper helped countless people in his native Israel and later Chicago, where he established a private practice. For the past 15 years, he also worked as a research professor of psychology at Roosevelt University.
In the 1990s, Dr. Kipper and his wife were part of a group that helped move the Joffrey Ballet from New York to Chicago. Dr. Kipper was named the Joffrey's first board chairman in 1995 and was one of three life directors.
"This is a tremendous loss for the city and me personally," said Fred Eychaner, the current Joffrey Ballet board chairman. "Dr. Kipper … dared to dream the impossible dream of establishing a world-class ballet company in our city. My solace is that David lived to see the Joffrey flourish."
In addition to his counseling career and dedication to the arts, Dr. Kipper showed great devotion for Israel and the Jewish community. He served in various leadership roles for the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, the American Jewish Congress and the Anti-Defamation League.
He was born in Tel Aviv in 1939 and received his bachelor's degree in psychology from Bar Ilan University in Israel in 1964. He received his doctorate from the University of Durham in England in 1969.
Dr. Kipper's interest in the field of psychotherapy prompted him to move to New York to study with Dr. Jacob L. Moreno, at the Moreno Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychodrama. There, Dr. Kipper met Barbara Levy, a student from Chicago who would become his wife.
"I fell in love with his voice," she recalled. "He was a wise and kind man, and he had a way of making people feel wonderful."
In October 1973, amid the violence of the Yom Kippur War, Dr. Kipper returned to Israel, where he did desensitization therapy.
After the war, Dr. Kipper traveled to Chicago for his wedding ceremony in 1974, then the newlyweds settled in Israel. From 1974 to 1986, Dr. Kipper served as a faculty member at Bar Ilan University and co-founded the music therapy program.
Dr. Kipper wrote extensively on psychotherapy, writing one book, "Psychotherapy Through Clinical Role Playing," and more than 70 chapters and articles in professional journals.
In 1986, the couple moved to Chicago, where his wife became chairwoman of her family's book distribution business, the Chas. Levy Co.
Back in Chicago, Dr. Kipper and his wife developed a love for the Joffrey Ballet and a close friendship with Robert Joffrey. The couple's passion for the troupe fueled their drive to bring the Joffrey to Chicago.
In 1995, their dream came true, with much of the Joffrey's belongings transported to Chicago on Chas. Levy trucks. In honor of the Kippers' years of support, the company named one of its three principal studios at the Joffrey Tower for the couple.
"He loved the Joffrey," said his wife, "but it was his family and his Jewish identity that were at the very core of this man."
Other survivors include two daughters, Talia and Tamar; and two grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at Anshe Emet Synagogue, 3751 N. Broadway, Chicago.