03/11/2025
The employees of Younger Optics would like to express our deepest condolences to our CEO, David Rips, as well as the entire Rips family, as they mourn the loss of Ted Rips, David's brother and a key figure in the Younger Optics success story.
I lost my big brother Ted yesterday, and it hurts. We had an unusual childhood. My dad never taught us how to play ball, but he did teach us how to work and make lenses at his fledgling company, Younger Optics. Ted was much more talented at this than I ever was. A natural artist, Ted was also a talented Optician. He carried this trait throughout his life as a craftsman. In his later life, he was an artist, talented in the use of many materials, but especially glass.
Ted did so many different jobs at the young company. Everything from grinding and polishing glass lenses, to managing Younger’s early efforts in plastic lenses. Ted is especially known in our industry for his role in Sales and Marketing, where he traveled the world, talking about Younger and its many unique products and inventions. Ted had a natural outgoing personality perfect for sales, full of stories, jokes, and optical wisdom. Everyone liked Ted, and many more loved him. He was welcomed everywhere.
Ted retired from the optical industry about twenty years ago to go back to school. He earned a master’s degree in History, and traveled the world with his wife of over 50 years, Karen. Ted developed into a talented artist in glass and loved playing his guitar to the music of his all-time favorite group, the Beatles. Ted leaves behind his wife, Karen, three daughters, Julie, Stephanie, Valerie, and one son, Sam, all of whom he loved dearly, along with his six wonderful grandchildren.
Ted always had my back, and always supported my efforts to build Younger. With a true heart of gold, full of empathy for all the social causes he saw, he can best be remembered by reading and feeling the words of John Lennon’s song, “Imagine.”
Goodbye, my brother. I and the entire optical industry will miss you.
-Dave
