Robert H. Shipman Jr., D.V.M., passed away on June 14, 2023, at his home in rural Overland Park, Kansas, surrounded by his wife, all of his six children, and his pets. 

Rob was born October 19, 1947, in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Robert and Josephine (JoAnn) Shipman. He married his wife, Kathryn (Kate), in Overland Park on May 30, 1970. Rob spent his childhood in Marysville, Kansas. He contemplated the priesthood, attending Saint John Vianney Seminary in Nebraska in his early high school years, before returning to Marysville and graduating from Marysville High School in 1965. He attended the University of Kansas, where he graduated with a B.S. in Zoology in 1970. He then attended Kansas State University, Department of Chemical Engineering, where he obtained his master’s degree. While continuing his research in chemical engineering, he attended K-State’s veterinary school, graduating as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1977.

While Rob possessed an expansive and complex mind, his heart and soul were simple and good. Upon graduation from veterinary school, he was faced with the decision to either leave the Midwest to pursue a career in chemical engineering, where his research by then had become internationally-recognized, or to pursue what he felt was truly his vocation: the practice of veterinary medicine. He chose the practice of veterinary medicine. For 46 years he joyfully cared for cats, dogs, and all forms of wildlife at his small animal hospital in Topeka. He also served as the volunteer Medical Director of Prairie Park Nature Center in Lawrence for many years.

Rob was an Eagle Scout and a Scoutmaster. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus. He was a member of the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association and American Veterinary Medical Association. He was also an avid cyclist, participating in Bike Across Kansas many times. He loved canoeing, kayaking, and trekking about Mount Desert Island, Maine and the Colorado Rocky Mountains with his family.

Rob was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Mark. Survivors include his wife, and children, Bobby, daughter-in-law Molly, Casey, Molly, Erin, son-in-law Abe, Adam, Jayne, and son-in-law Amaury, and many grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A Funeral Mass will be held Monday, June 19, 2023 at 10:30 am at St Gregory’s Catholic Church in Marysville, KS . A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 2:00 pm at Kay McFarland Japanese Garden in Topeka.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Northeast Kansas Wildlife Rescue, PO Box 312, Silver Lake, KS 66539.

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