Karl von Lipsey Sr., city and federal crime investigator

Services are set for Tuesday, Sept. 15, for Karl von Lipsey Sr., 89, formerly of Philadelphia, a law enforcement investigator whose specialty was white-collar and financial crime.

Mr. von Lipsey died Wednesday, Aug. 5, of complications from a stroke at the Foulkeways in Gwynedd, where he had lived since 2004 after the death of his wife, Mary-Elizabeth von Lipsey. The two were married for 54 years.

In 1950, Mr. von Lipsey began a distinguished career in law enforcement as an officer with the Philadelphia Police Department. Since he worked nights, he opened a little shop repairing radios and televisions.

He served primarily as a Philadelphia homicide detective until 1963 when he joined the U.S. Treasury Department's IRS Criminal Investigation Division, and worked as a special agent and group manager.

His niche was investigating white-collar and financial crime. Drawing on his fascination with radio and television technology, Mr. von Lipsey became an expert in electronic surveillance techniques. He used those skills to conduct field investigations of organized-crime and racketeering activities across the country and in Puerto Rico, his family said.

In 1983, he retired from law enforcement to help create a commercial detective agency with his son Karl Jr. The business, Access Security Agency Inc., operates in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, focusing on cases involving alleged business deception, computer crimes, and insurance fraud.

Born in Memphis in 1925, Mr. von Lipsey was reared in Tallula, Miss. He joined the Army Air Corps just before the end of World War II and was trained by the Army as a criminal investigator. He was honorably discharged with the rank of corporal in 1946.

After his military service, he married and moved to Philadelphia. The family relocated to Laverock, Montgomery County, in 1972.

Son Roderick K. von Lipsey, a decorated Marine Corps fighter pilot in Desert Storm and aide to Gen. Colin Powell when the latter was chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, described what it was like to grow up in the von Lipsey household.

"Theirs was a disciplined family, with steadfast values about integrity, responsibility, and the need to select goals with care," the son said in his online biography. "These maxims were constantly underscored with another parental adage: A good education is a key to future success, and well worth whatever personal sacrifice it takes to achieve it."

Mr. von Lipsey was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. In person, he was charming, gracious, and humble. He enjoyed golf, gardening, and fishing.

"He loved to grow flowers and tomatoes when we lived in Laverock," Roderick said. "His garden was so beautiful, that he would plant all the neighbors' gardens, and by August he was feeding the whole neighborhood."

Besides his two sons, he is survived by four grandchildren.

A visitation from 9 to 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, is to be followed by a 10 a.m. Funeral Mass at St. Genevieve's Church, 1225 Bethlehem Pike, Flourtown. Interment is in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Foulkeways Fund, 1120 Meetinghouse Rd., Gwynedd, Pa. 19436, or the Karl and Mary-Elizabeth von Lipsey Scholarship Fund, La Salle College High School, 8605 Cheltenham Ave., Wyndmoor, Pa. 19038.

610-313-8102