Lawrence M. “Larry” Lipsher

Lawrence “Larry” Lipsher, devoted son, husband, father, grandfather, mentor, and proud member of the Yale Class of 1962, passed away just before Thanksgiving, 2025, in Woodbridge, Connecticut. He was 85 years old. Larry was married to Lainie (née Helaine Joan Botwinik) in 1963 in an unusual, wonderful ceremony, and they have two children, Andrew and Jaimie, who sadly passed away several years ago. Their grandchildren are Nick and Zach Lipsher. Zach will graduate from Yale with the Class of 2026.

Larry was born on October 15, 1940, in New Haven, son of Simon Robert and Hilda Levine Lipsher.  He prepared at North Haven High School and grew up with a boundless curiosity that would become his lifelong signature. That curiosity carried him to Yale, where he immersed himself in the academic and cultural life of the campus. He was a sociology major and held a scholarship from 1958-1962. Larry was a resident of Branford College (on the football team) and a member of the Yale Corinthian Yacht Club. He was varsity polo manager (major “Y”).

After Yale, Larry went on to earn an MBA from Columbia Business School in 1965, majoring in marketing. He also served in the military, the U. S. Army Reserve from 1962-1968. When ROTC returned to campus Larry became actively involved. He, with others, founded the Yale Veterans Association (YVA) where he served as treasurer.

Larry’s first position after business school was with the Sperry & Hutchinson Company, the Bienecke family business. Bill Bienecke ’36 interviewed Larry and offered him a position. He was the first MBA that the company hired. Larry left S&H to return to New Haven where he was involved with family businesses until 1980.

Later in his career, Larry held executive positions in several firms. Two that he mentions on his LinkedIn profile were being principal in financial service firms (Sippican Group, 1998-2008, and Martin Associates 1989 – 2025), providing financial and management advisory services for small to middle market privately held companies. As a consultant and mentor to emerging nonprofit leaders and small‑business owners across Connecticut, he offered guidance on budgeting, governance and long‑term planning, always with an emphasis on integrity and sustainability. Many of the people he advised continued to seek his counsel long after their formal work together ended — a testament to the trust he inspired.

In New Haven Larry became involved with the Yale Club, serving as President and the Association of Yale Alumni, ultimately being named AYA Chair. He volunteered as a Yale Alumni Schools Committee (ASC) interviewer, meeting with generations of prospective students and offering thoughtful, encouraging assessments. Larry was a Fellow of Branford College and served as a “faculty advisor” to freshmen and sophomores until his passing. He sat on university committees, ran AYA assemblies and Class of 1962 reunions, attended many athletic events and went to the Payne Whitney Gym every day, having the same locker for over 50 years. Larry audited many Yale classes through which he often got to know interesting Yale undergraduates.

He was actively involved with the Urban Resource Initiative (URI) and participated every year in the Yale Day of Service. Larry remained an active member of the Yale Club of NYC and served on the Council there for many years. In 1990 Phil Moriarty, our then-Class Secretary announced in the Yale Alumni Magazine that Larry was to receive the Yale Medal for his many contributions to the University over the years. Larry felt tremendously proud to be honored with this important award.

Larry remained deeply connected to the university throughout his life. As Lainie put it, “He loved Yale, not only the years he spent on campus as an undergraduate, but also his many associations and involvements with the university over the years.”

In Larry’s essay for our 40^th Reunion, he reflected on the overall sweep of his life, with all its elements, family, work, and Yale:

“Spiritually, and to an extent physically, I have never left Yale. In the past 20 years in particular, I have devoted a good deal of time — and all of it rewarding — to the service of Yale. From Alumni Schools Committee interviewing to the culmination of my Association of Yale Alumni experience as Chairman, I have remained close, and supportive of our fine University.

“As a resident of the New Haven area, my volunteer service at Yale was also a pleasant respite from the daily activities of my business career. After 18 years with three closely-held small industrial companies in the New Haven area, I have shifted gears and am now an officer of a small investment banking firm in New York City. It all seems like a logical career progression – at least that’s what I try to tell myself.

“The commute from New Haven to New York is new, but not burdensome. The timing of the change was perfect. My son, Drew, is now a junior at Yale, and my daughter, Jaimie, is a freshman at Union College in Schenectady, New York. With the change in our at home responsibilities, my wife, Lainie, has decided to work and where else but — Yale. She’s heading up the Parents’ Program for the Alumni Fund (soliciting non-alumni parents).

“Yale has given me and my family a great deal, and I am pleased that I have had the opportunities to return these tangibles and intangibles which keep us all together.”

For our 50^th Reunion, Larry served as the Chief Deputy Reunion Chairman, working with Bob Oliver, who was the Chair. He is shown in the photo below, savoring the moment at the Class Dinner with Bob and Mike Kane.

As part of our 50th, Larry helped organize and run the Saturday golf outing, working with Howard Kolodny, performing heroically in his usual calm manner. Kolodny wrote:

“We had the most perfect weather, and the condition of the course was superb. Larry Lipsher was a tower of strength while I was recuperating from double bypass surgery. Having done this at our 40th reunion, I expected things to be chaotic, but Larry’s response was ‘There’s always the 19th hole.’ Instead of making us herd cats and beagles, our classmates were models of cooperation. There were no murders, fistfights or stabbings. Guess we’re all getting older, if not mellower.”

Larry built a life centered on family and community. He was a father who showed up in every sense — for school events, Dad’s weekends at summer camps, for the small, steady moments that form the fabric of a family. As a grandfather, he was a source of stories, wisdom, and exposing his grandkids to Yale.

Larry enjoyed the simple pleasures of life — sailing out of Bruce & Johnson’s in Branford, CT, biking throughout CT, often on the Farmington Canal trail, taking care of the lawn, swimming on the shore of the Owenego Club, and wonderful canoe trips with friends on the Saco River. A martini and a cold beer were also enjoyable pleasures!

Those who knew Larry will remember his dry humor, his integrity, his humility, and his unwavering belief that a good life is measured not by accolades but by relationships and service. He’ll be remembered not only for what he accomplished, but for who he was: a generous spirit, and a steady presence in a world that often felt too hurried. His memory will continue to inspire all who had the privilege of knowing him as he is missed by his family and friends.

 

— Tim Hall and Lee Bolman wrote Larry’s classmate obituary, with generous assistance from Lainie Lipsher, for which we are most grateful.