It was July 1964 and Prentiss Presbyterian Church hadn’t had a full-time preacher in nine months.  A man from Chattanooga, Tennessee, in seminary at the time, was asked if he would come as supply pastor, just for one year.  He agreed. That was 60 years ago.

The preacher at Dr. F. W. Tripp’s home church told him not to go.  “You will get down there and we will never see you again,” he said.  And that is precisely what happened.

“I had just turned down an internship in a congregation of 650 because I thought it was too small,” said Dr. Tripp. “Nothing brought us to Prentiss, Mississippi, but God,” he said.

“Once I got here, I found out these were the best people anywhere, so why would I want to leave?”

Dr. Tripp not only became the preacher, but the youth leader and the song director as well.  He also preached an early morning service on Sundays at a sister church Sleigo Presbyterian in Lone Star.

“There was a man that introduced me to everyone around town.  He made sure that I got to go hunting and meet just about everyone.  He oriented me to the locals.  That man was Don Kruger.  He was very influential in our decision to stay.”

It wasn’t long before his preacher at First Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga retired, and his home church of 850 called on him to return and take over.

He turned it down.

“After I turned down my home church, I found it was easy to turn down everyone else as well,” he said.

Years ago, a member of the congregation would approach each visiting pulpit committee and exclaim, “He is ours.  You can’t have him!”

Mrs. Ruth Tripp started teaching at Prentiss High School soon after they arrived.  Their son Mark was three years old.

One of the members of the youth when the Tripps came was Jerry Q. Magee.  Jerry Q. was “courting” Donis Dungan at the time.  Donis and Jerry Q. were the first couple Dr. Tripp married.   

“I came to Prentiss with a sports car, a Cadillac and a boat, that’s it,” said Dr. Tripp.

It wasn’t long after he got here that he started taking the young people out to the Jeff Davis Lake to ski.  They skied year-round.

“We got so good at it, we would ski off the pier in the wintertime and never touch the water,” said Jerry Q. Magee.  “There are people all over the United States that know how to water ski only because of Dr. Tripp,” he said.

“I have taught hundreds of kids to ski, but I hope that isn’t the only thing I’ve taught them,” said Dr. Tripp.

The Tripps were in Prentiss about a year when they bought an old bread truck and converted it into a vehicle to carry the youth on trips.

Youth members would sit on milk crates in the bread truck and were only allowed one pillowcase full of their belongings.   

They went on their first trip to Pensacola in that bread truck.  A bread truck and three buses later, the youth continued to make the same trip until the house they rented was sold in 2018. They have also taken the youth on countless trips to Disney World since it opened in 1971.

The Tripps originally lived in the manse across the street from the church on Third Street. They immediately opened their home to the children in the community.

“It wasn’t long, before we didn’t have room for everyone to gather,” said Dr. Tripp.  That is when the Tripps built their house out John Street.  “We wanted to have enough room to welcome everyone,” he said.

Through the years, they have hosted Fellowship Days, Christmas and Valentine parties and Easter egg hunts. The youth still meet weekly in their home on Sunday nights after church for a time of fellowship.

A tennis court, small golf course, pond, paddle boats, canoes, kayaks, trampolines, outdoor games, indoor game room, indoor swimming pool and the latest in game technology were always readily available at the Tripps’ residence to anyone who would enjoy them.  “It is for the kids,” said the Tripps. “It’s all for the kids.”

Not only have the Tripps ministered to the youth in this area, but they were also instrumental in the formation and building of Prentiss Christian School.

Several men held a meeting to discuss the forming of a private school after concerns arose about the Federal Government taking over all public schools and eliminating Christian education. Tripp was elected organizer of the school and first board president.

“I drew up the plans for the building and got it built.  For the first several years the school’s mail came to my post office box.  The school didn’t have one yet,” said Dr. Tripp.

After the church purchased their first bus in the 70s, they would fill the bus with anyone who needed a ride and take them to the PCS ballgames.

“There are a lot of people in the community, not just our church, that would have never gotten to go to a ballgame if Dr. and Mrs. Tripp hadn’t carried them on the bus,” said Donis Magee.

Mrs. Tripp taught English and math for 20 years at PCS and Dr. Tripp also served as the “Voice of the Saints” on Friday nights.

Through the years Dr. Tripp has served the community as the president of the Rotary Club, PTA, and Chamber of Commerce.

Mrs. Tripp has served as State Chairman of Mathematics Teachers of the MPSEA, was selected to Who’s Who in Secondary Education, Personalities of the South, Community Leaders and Noteworthy Americans, and Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.  She was selected as STAR Teacher eight times and is a member of The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International.

When told the church wanted to celebrate their impact over the past 60 years and what a tremendous commitment it was, Mrs. Tripp asked that the church not go to any trouble. “You are our family.  All of you are our family.  We wouldn’t leave our family,” she said.

The celebration will be held July 28 from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. at the church.

“We have had a wonderful life here.  The parents have shared their children with us. Everyone has been wonderful in times of trouble and in times of joy,” said Mrs. Tripp.

The Tripps are proud of their only son Mark and his children and their great-grandchildren. But those are not the only pictures that adorn the walls of the Tripp residence. Every child and family that came to their home or walked in the doors of Prentiss Presbyterian Church can be found up and down the hall.

There is a word for that: love.

The members of Prentiss Presbyterian Church hope you can join them Sunday as they honor this couple that has given unconditionally and immeasurably to this community for 60 years.