Local man honored as friend to many

The Mennonite community celebrated the life of Donnie Flippin with his family at his funeral Friday, Oct. 30. They brought a horse and carriage from the commuinty to carry his body to its final resting place.
The Mennonite community celebrated the life of Donnie Flippin with his family at his funeral Friday, Oct. 30. They brought a horse and carriage from the commuinty to carry his body to its final resting place.

It is often said, it doesn't matter when you begin life or really when your life ends. What really matters is that small dash in between and what you have accomplished.

Donnie Flippin was a man of character and his funeral was to honor him.

He had a great love for horses. He often traveled to many horse facilities to visit with the people and see the horses throughout the United States.

Locally, most of the horses are located in the Amish (north of California) and Mennonite communities (south of California).

In search of horses Donnie traveled to these communities often and befriended the people who owned and cared for the animals.

In the Amish community, he assisted many in finding various items for their homes such as kerosene lamps. He often would drive his friends in his vehicle for various needs that occurred. He would go to their community to visit with them.

In the Mennonite community, he would often go on Sundays to watch the many horses and carriages going to church. Many times Dottie, his wife, would ride with him. As he traveled through Mennonite country he developed friendships. When the Mennonite community became aware of Donnie's health they offered the use of the one horse drawn carriage along with a horse to take his casket to the cemetery. His family was very grateful of this offer and thought the use of the carriage would add a special touch to honor him. When he was told of the arrangement he was very grateful and appreciative of this gesture of kindness.

Until the death of Flippin, the carriage used for his service had never been used for anyone outside of the Mennonite community.

Flippin's casket was made from walnut from locally grown trees. The gentleman who built the casket builds them in a shop on his farm and keeps several on hand in different sizes. His wife sews the interior and fits it into the casket when each is needed. Each of the Mennonite caskets like his are individually crafted.

According to Brian Hufendiek, Funeral Director at Windmill Ridge Funeral Services, "Flippin was an avid outdoors man, with his casket being locally built from lumber that was milled in the area, from a local walnut tree just made the selection of the casket fitting for him, who knows, he could have hunted in the area where the tree once stood."

Hufendiek shared, "Donnie and Dottie assisted us since we opened the funeral home. From running errands to working a visitation, Donnie was always ready to help us serve a family. As the facility was under construction, he would visit us, look things over and visit with the builders to make certain everything was done right. Donnie was a great person that provided us with great memories and entertained us with stories of his life. His frequent visits to the office are already missed."

The California community viewed Flippin as a very generous person that helped many people from friends to strangers. He had a great sense of humor and loved a well planned practical joke.

Hufendiek shared, "Once he ordered a birthday cake for his wife. He gave the decorator instructions to write in icing "Happy Birthday Dot and make the Dot big.' When he picked up the cake, it read Happy Birthday with a large round dot on it-not quite what he had ordered, but everyone that saw the cake chuckled. Instead of being upset Donnie saw humor in the situation and made it fun."

Flippin enjoyed his family and was a very strong California Pinto fan. He played on the 1957-1958 basketball team.

The dash between 1940 and 2015 was a very important one for all who knew Donald D. "Donnie" Flippin. He left a legacy of friendship and love for all to follow.