State Rep. Kem Shipp tried to bring home as much pork-barrel spending as possible while serving as a legislator for the 38th district of Cobb County, and made no apologies.
The Kennesaw Republican viewed state-funded projects as a way for taxpayers in the towns and county he represented to regain their fair share. He was particularly proud of the $500,000 that Cobb County received from the 1998 General Assembly, money for projects such as Smyrna's blind and low-vision program and baseball bleachers at Kennesaw State University.
"It's not pork if it's something we need in my district," Mr. Shipp told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the time. "I'm going to get as much of our tax dollars back home as I can."
On May 22, Kemuel "Kem" Wayne Shipp Sr. died of kidney failure at Heritage Hospice in Kennesaw. He was 72. A private family service has been held. West Cobb Funeral Home and Crematory Inc., handled arrangements.
As a lawmaker, Mr. Shipp took care of his own, said Lanie Shipp Hoover, Mr. Shipp's former wife and a Marietta resident.
"He went into the legislature with the idea of taking care of his constituents," she said. "He was particularly endeared to children, senior citizens, schools and parks, and worked very hard for them. Because he grew up in the area, he did what he could to build on it."
Mr. Shipp graduated from Sprayberry High, where he excelled at basketball. He received an athletic scholarship from the University of Kentucky, which he attended two years. He earned a business bachelor's degree at Furman University.
In 1965, he entered the insurance profession and worked in management with Metropolitan Life and Paul Revere Life before founding the Kem Shipp Agency, which he ran 26 years. He also started Shilo Enterprises, a holding company that operated a Chevron station, a country store with an ice cream parlor and a log home contracting outfit.
In 1992, Mr. Shipp was elected to the General Assembly and served eight years. He sat on three House committees: health and ecology, natural resources and environment, and insurance. He helped pass a law that enables workers to transfer health insurance from one job to the next and, among other issues, spearheaded the Lake Acworth Task Force to assess pollution problems.
He served as chairman, vice-chairman and secretary-treasurer for the Cobb County General Assembly delegation. State Rep. Judy Manning of Marietta called him a well-rounded legislator who was devoted to the citizens.
"I think he did an excellent job," she said.
Additional survivors include son Skip Shipp of Kennesaw, daughter Dori Smith of Acworth and five grandchildren.
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