The 92-year-old widow of the Dallas police officer fatally shot by Lee Harvey Oswald after he assassinated President John F. Kennedy has died following a COVID-19 infection.
Marie Tippit of Sulphur Springs, Texas, died at a hospital on Tuesday after battling the coronavirus and other health issues, a family friend confirmed to the Dallas Morning News. It is not yet clear what the exact cause of death was, according to Rick Janich, a retired Dallas police detective.
Her 62-year-old son, Curtis Tippit, said she began manifesting symptoms of COVID-19 a few weeks ago, which quickly progressed and became more serious.
“She went from having a lung X-ray that said there was no pneumonia on a Wednesday to having pneumonia in both lungs on a Saturday,” he said. “She also had congestive heart failure, which she’s had for a long time. With congestive heart failure, you’re going to have kidney issues. She was overwhelmed.”
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Marie Tippit was the wife of officer J.D. Tippit, the only person other than Kennedy who was shot to death by Oswald on Nov. 22, 1963. Her husband was killed just 45 minutes after the president’s assassination, when he stopped Oswald in the Oak Cliff neighborhood, located about 3 miles from Dealey Plaza, where Kennedy was fatally shot, and Texas Gov. John Connally was wounded.
J.D. Tippit spotted Oswald and stopped him while patrolling in the neighborhood. While the exact reason why he stopped Oswald has never been determined, shortly before 1:15 p.m., the assassin reached into his jacket and unloaded four shots into Tippit, with the final one striking him in the side of the head. Oswald was arrested inside the Texas Theatre just 36 minutes later.
Curtis Tippit said that his mother, who was in her mid-thirties at the time of her first husband’s death, was “a true survivor” bolstered by her faith in God.
“She survived all tragedies, and she did it with honor. She didn’t hold any bitterness toward Oswald or his family. She was a person who cared deeply for other people. She was a true warrior who was there with whatever people needed. She depended on God tremendously. She would tell you — that was the source for her strength.”
Following her husband’s death, Marie Tippit’s family experienced an outpouring of support not just from friends but from around the world and even the White House. She said she received some 40,000 letters from people and a total of more than $600,000 in donations. Former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy sent her correspondence, which included a signed photo, and then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy, Kennedy’s brother, called to express his condolences.
After her husband was killed, Janich, the family friend, said Marie Tippit became a sort of matriarchal figure for other spouses of Dallas police officers who were killed in the line of duty.
“She really was an ambassador for all the widows — I would call her the matriarch,” Janich said, “of all the widows of fallen officers. You and I have no idea what these ladies and gentlemen go through. They have a special bond. She was always the one who told them, ‘The way to survive this is baby steps. Think of your family. Survive with your family. You will never get over it, but you have to do the best you can for your family.’”
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In addition to her son and a daughter, Tippit is survived by 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
The Dallas Police Department mourned the death of Tippit when contacted by the Washington Examiner.
“In 1963 the citizens of Dallas, the Dallas Police Department and our nation experienced the loss of President John F. Kennedy and Dallas Officer J.D. Tippit #848. Since that tragic day in downtown Dallas, Mrs. Tippit has always been a special member of our Police family. Everyone who met Mrs. Tippit was blessed by her kindness and compassion,” the department said in a statement. “Yesterday, the Dallas Police Department lost this special member of our family. I ask you to remember Mrs. Marie and her family in your thoughts and prayers.”
