On May 7, 1965, Mack Earl and Judy Tippens welcomed a bouncing baby boy who they named Adrian Keith Tippens. 

He attended Everman public schools in elementary. You would often find him playing marbles, hide-and-seek, red light/ green light, baseball, football and basketball with the neighborhood kids on Glasgow Road in Highland Hills. The family moved and he began attending Fort Worth ISD public schools. At Wedgewood Middle School he was introduced to cooking and continued to enjoy making all types of meals. During the summer he would “mess up some groceries”, as his mother would say. Adrian enjoyed playing basketball while attending Southwest High School and graduated in 1983. Post-graduation, he enlisted in the United States Navy. 

During his career he completed basic training in Orlando, Florida before being stationed in Alameda near the bay area of San Francisco, California. There he sailed the seas on the USS Carl Vinson. Adrian traveled the world and collected currency from the different countries he visited. Upon completing his overseas missions, he returned to the states and was stationed at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor, Washington. In December of 1987, Adrian was honorably discharged to the US Navy Reserves. He returned to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and worked for Turbomeca USA in Grand Prairie, Texas. Adrian’s official title was Aviation Storekeeper. He held many other positions during his working years.

 His favorite pastime in the most recent years of his life was umpiring baseball and softball games. You would find him his happiest being behind the plate, eyeing his strike zone and calling a runner safe at home plate. On March 26, 2026 God called Adrian “Safe” at home plate. Waiting there for him were his parents, paternal and maternal grandparents, and a squad of loving family.

He is survived by an all-star roster of children, Dione Mitchell and Christopher Sexton (Makeisha) and his rookie squad of 5 grandchildren who will carry his spirit into seasons yet to come. He also leaves behind brother Jasper Earl Manning (Sophia), sister Adrienna La Dawn Tippens, one great aunt, Fay Williams, uncles Ernest Tippens and Donnie Lindsey (Karen), aunts Laverne Tippens, Jane Wilson, Linda Darlene Shed, and Gracie Smith along with family and friends, all of whom were part of his cherished home team. While the stadium feels quieter without him, those who loved him know he’s now playing on a field where the lights never dim and the season never ends.