Stories from the First Cathedral 53

Mrs. George Whipple was the sister-in-law of Bishop Whipple. She came to Minnesota with her sister, Mrs. James Lloyd Breck. When Bishop Whipple came to Minnesota, his brother fell in love with Miss Mary Mills. They made the happiest of homes in Faribault, MN.

"When I knew Mrs. Whipple, Mr. Whipple had been long dead, but I served a parish of which he had been rector many years before, and Mrs. Whipple gave me an instant friendship, which deepened with the years. Through her I learned to know the unselfish and whimsical man (George Whipple) whose memory was lovingly cherished by all the people who had known him. She told me how she was forced to lock up her clothes; because whenever poor people came his way, he gave, first all his own things, then all hers, so far as he could lay hold of them." (Certain American Faces by Charles Lewis Slattery pg. 118, 1918)

The Rev George Whipple died in 1888. Mrs. Mary Whipple lived a quiet life in Faribault centered around the Cathedral. She was an excellent Sunday School teacher and taught over 30 years of lessons at the Cathedral to high school age young women. 

Mary died on Trinity Sunday June 11 1911, after attending the Holy Eucharist during the second service at the Cathedral. She became unconscious and died a few moments after being taken out of the nave of the Cathedral. She was 82 years old. She loved the Cathedral, Shattuck-St Mary's School, her husband George, and the many devoted men and women of the rich ministry in Faribault, MN.