Pines Village board of directors profile: Patrick Lyp

President 2010-2011

Growing up in New Jersey, Patrick Lyp enjoyed a great luxury.

As the oldest of seven siblings, it was certainly not material wealth Lyp basked in.  Instead, until he went off to college, Lyp had the luxury of having his grandfather visit the family almost every day.

His grandfather, a retired sheet metal worker, would spend the day, helping with household tasks and simply hanging out.Lyp heard his grandfather’s stories of growing up during the Depression as one of nine children in his family. The stories were not profound, Lyp says, but offered insights to life in an earlier time. In that daily connection with his grandfather were the seeds of Patrick Lyp’s appreciation for the contributions of our older citizens.

Now, as Pines Village Retirement Communities Board President, Lyp plays a leading role in celebrating those contributions. “I probably get as much out of it as the residents do,” he says of his role.“The life stories they can tell, the things they experienced, the things they saw first hand is really incredible.”

A partner in the Valparaiso law firm of Blachly, Tabor, Bozik & Hartman, Lyp originally came to the Midwest right out of law school in the mid-1990s to clerk for a federal judge in Chicago.

He and his wife Jody had already put a down payment on an apartment in Chicago’s Loop, when he was invited for an interview in Valparaiso.  “Wherever THAT was,” Lyp thought to himself, seeing the interview as practice for bigger and better things.   But in short order, Lyp was offered the job and he took it. He and Jody have been here ever since. “The best thing we ever did,” he says.

As far back as he can remember, he always wanted to be a lawyer. The chance to help others, provide counsel and advocate for clients gives him great satisfaction. Today, Lyp’s practice focuses on municipal law and includes business and bank work.

In addition to the Pines Village board, Lyp serves on the Porter County Election Board and formerly served on the Porter County Council on Aging. He and his family are also actively involved at St. Paul Catholic Church.

Over the past few years, Jody and their three kids have gotten him into running. He has taken part in triathlons and mini-marathons as a way to stay in shape and challenge himself. Because of his busy schedule, though, he often finds himself doing his runs at night after work and meetings. “It’s better than five-thirty in the morning,” he says with a grin.

Lyp’s upbringing in northern New Jersey helped shape his cultural world -- from his love of the music of fellow Garden State native Bruce Springsteen to his loyal support of the New York Yankees. The latter is clearly evident in the baseball-themed décor of his downtown law office, where Yankees photos, tickets and other memorabilia adorn the walls. A framed ticket stub tells of his first visit to the new Yankee Stadium with his two sons – for the second game of the 2009 World Series.

As Pines Village board president, Lyp is reminded that our society gets it wrong when we think senior citizens have lost their usefulness. “I think the opposite is true,” he says, thinking back to his grandfather. “I think our senior population is just incredibly underutilized.”

 Having a vibrant senior population is one of Valparaiso’s richest elements and reminds us all we are part of a larger community, Lyp says.

The interconnections – like Valparaiso High School students volunteering to visit with Pines Village residents – gratify him.

“It’s part of the larger quilt of our community,” he says.

We Celebrate Life is a collection of portraits, in words and photographs, of just some of the wonderful, extraordinary people who live, work and serve Pines Village Retirement Communities. View more >