The Life of Don Lipsett
The Life of Don Lipsett
Don Lipsett was born August 9, 1930, in Woodburn, Indiana. He received a
B.S. in Business and an M.B.A. from Indiana University. He joined the U.S.
Coast Guard where he was a search and rescue officer in the 9th District, with
the rank of Lieutenant JG.
Don’s interest in politics started with his duties as an advance man for Bill
Jenner’s campaign for the United States Senate. A recent organization which
Don founded was the Bill Jenner Society, which meets annually in Indianapolis
to commemorate the achievements of the late Senator.
Moving east to further the conservative cause, Don settled in New York where
he worked for the Foundation for Economic Education and The Freeman in the
early 1950s. He then worked closely with the newly founded National Review
and its dynamic young editor, Bill Buckley. After several years, Don returned to
Indianapolis and worked for the Indiana Manufacturer’s Association.
Of special significance for the conservative movement, Don was appointed the
Midwestern Director (Indianapolis) and subsequently the National Field Director
(Philadelphia) of the Intercollegiate Society of Individualists (ISI) or, as it
subsequently became named, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He nurtured
dozens of clubs, student leaders, and faculty members to wage conservative
battles on the nation’s liberal campuses.
In the fall of 1962 he married Norma Huron in Indianapolis. Norma was his
helpmate both in the Philadelphia Society and the Decatur Shop.
In 1964 through the contacts that he had made with such conservative leaders as
Milton Friedman, Russell Kirk, Frank Meyer, and Wilmoore Kendall, Don
founded The Philadelphia Society, which was the crowning achievement of his
career. He was to serve as the Permanent Secretary of the Philadelphia Society
from its founding in 1964 until his death in 1995.
Don also served as senior staff member of the American Security Council and
as the Executive Secretary of the American Conservative Union. He later
became a stockbroker with Paine, Webber, Jackson, and Curtis in Indianapolis .
He moved to North Adams, Michigan, and served as the Director of
Foundation Relations and Director of the Center for Constructive Alternatives at
Hillsdale College. He was elected to membership in the Mont Pelerin Society in
1971. From his base in North Adams, he edited its newsletter for four years.
Wherever Don and Norma moved, The Philadelphia Society moved with them.
Meanwhile, the Decatur Shop became world famous for the couple’s design,
promotion, and popularization of the Adam Smith Necktie. During the Reagan
Era, it became a universally recognized symbol of free men and free markets.
From 1977 to 1995, Don served as Counselor to the President of The Heritage
Foundation in Washington, D.C.
Don Lipsett died on October 30, 1995, in North Adams, Michigan.