Mary Earlene was born the eldest child of Emmett, a piano tuner, and Fay Wyrick, a homemaker,  followed by younger siblings Hugh and Patricia (Patty). During WWII the family moved around and eventually settled in Fresno, CA where she attended schools and eventually graduated from Fresno High School. She married fellow classmate Lawrence “Larry”Tipton and shortly thereafter started their family of four children-Allegra, Lori, William and David. Eventually Mary Earlene earned a nursing degree and she worked in hospitals, private care and for many years in the office of Dr. Steven Miller (Ret). She loved nursing and truly felt it was an honorable calling. Mary Earlene was an avid reader and Anglophile, adored her grandchildren, loved her pets, gardens and all forms of beauty. She is survived by all of her children and siblings, 10 of her grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren, her nieces Debbie and Kathy, and nephew Hugh. She was predeceased by 2 grandchildren, Audrey and Elliott. Mary Earlene passed away quietly after complications from a fall in Reedley, CA.