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Rips Funeral Book

Rips Funeral Book - October 24, 2004Rip Smock died on October 24, 2004 at the age of 81. His funeral Mass was held at St. Jerome Catholic Church in the Spring Branch area of Houston, Texas on October 28, 2004 and he is buried at Forest Park Lawndale.

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Rip’s Polish Ancestry Villages Slideshow

Most of Rip’s Polish ancestors, including the Polka, Kloc and Maduzia families were poor farmers from the small villages in the Debica area of southeast Poland; Gawrzylowa, Jaworze Dolne, Jaworze Grone, Pilzno, Pilznionek and Zawierzbie.

These photos of the ancestral villages of Rip’s Polish ancestors were taken by James Derheim in the 1980’s. James also labeled all of the photos and included some hand made maps of the locations.

World War II In The South Pacific Photo Album

Walter A Rip Smock's WWII In The South Pacific

Most of these photos were taken in the Marshall Islands in 1944, during World War II. Rip was in the Navy and served on an Aircraft Carrier in the South Pacific. His Navy buddies nicknamed him ‘Smokey’. The descriptions were taken from writing in Rip’s albums or from the back of the original photos.

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Hunting and Fishing In The 40’s Photo Album

1940's Walter A Rip Smock Hunting and Fishing PhotosMost of these old Texas hunting and fishing photos were taken in the 1940’s either at the old Chocolate Bayou shack or at the Christmas Bay camp between Surfside and San Luis Pass. The descriptions were taken from writing in Rip’s albums or from the back of the original photos.

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