Geraldine (Geri) E. Phipps (nee Otey)  

November 9, 1929 – January 31, 2021  

Geri was born in Brooklyn, NY, as the only child of James H. Otey, Jr. and M. Frances Johnson Otey.  Geri received her BS in nursing from Adelphi University in Garden City, NY, and her MS in nursing education from St. John’s College, Queens, NY.  After her father’s early death in 1945, Geri summered with her mother on Chebeague Island in Maine where she met Robert (Bob) Hubbard Phipps.  They married on June 16, 1956, and lived in Lindenhurst, NY, through Bob’s early death on April 13, 1965.   

After Bob’s early death, Geri worked to support her young family of three children (who ranged in age from 2 to 7 years at the time of Bob’s death) as a School Nurse Teacher in the Lindenhurst public schools.  In 1971, Geri relocated with her three children (Jim, Tom and Barbara) to Merritt Island, FL.    

Geri was dedicated to the value of high quality education and she supported all of her three children and eight grandchildren in their pursuit of college and postgraduate education.  Geri’s middle child, Tom Phipps, attended Florida Tech for his freshman year before transferring to FSU where he received his BS in 1983.    

Geri attributed “son Tom’s” success in college to the start he got while at Florida Tech.  She named Florida Tech as one of four educational institutions in her charitable remainder trust.  Geri’s children wish to thank Florida Tech for naming this laboratory in her honor and appreciate that the education of future students will benefit from her legacy.