Remembering John Fripp

From his early days building animal care facilities at the Sanctuary to his work as board chair and chief financial officer, John helped build Best Friends from the ground up.

He attended Winchester, the oldest boys’ school in England, founded in 1352. He served in the British Army in an artillery unit in Egypt in the 1950s. After the army, he graduated with a degree in history from Oxford University. He was a distinguished British gentleman from a prominent family and could be as stern as he was kind, as intelligent as he was emotionally insightful, and as staunch and sturdy as he was full of British dry humor.

John created Best Friends’ financial system, making sure the organization was always operating in the black while still accomplishing its core mission. You could also say he was the father of planned giving at Best Friends. No gift was too small or too out-of-the-box.

The first bequest gift Best Friends received was $30 from an unknown donor. As these types of gifts continued to grow, John realized this was something special. While writing thank-you letters to each and every person who made a bequest gift, he also penned stories about planned giving for Best Friends magazine. He was very diligent in tracking these donations and writing wonderful letters of thanks.

John retired in 2012 at age 76. It is safe to say that Best Friends wouldn’t be where it is today without his tireless work or his insight and leadership that helped shape the organization.

When years later he passed away, it seemed as though the walls of the canyon might crumble. He was such a pillar of strength, upholding everything around him. But nothing crumbled because he had helped to build such a sturdy organization, and his impact lives on. But everyone continues to miss his sensible advice, his strength, his humor, and even his occasional Winston Churchill-like grumpy remarks. John was a paragon.