WBOC
Salisbury, MD--Former Pocomoke City Mayor Curt Lippoldt, who served as mayor of the city from 1986-1998, died Wednesday afternoon. His death came a day after his 85th birthday.
Last Saturday, Lippoldt suffered a cardiac emergency and collapsed while giving a public talk on stage at his beloved Mar-Va Theater on 103 Market St. in downtown Pocomoke. He was rushed to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury where he remained in a coma until his death early Wednesday afternoon.
While mayor of Pocomoke, Lippoldt spearheaded efforts to revitalize downtown- including the Mar-Va Theater- and the city in general.
People who knew Lippoldt said he taught them so much. One of those people is the city's current mayor,
Bruce Morrison, who administered CPR to Lippoldt following his collapse last Saturday. Morrison said of his friend, "He taught me how to be an ambassador to Pocomoke just like he did, and to be friendly to people, talk to people and smile all the time. That was his big thing. If you always saw Curt, Curt was always smiling. No matter if he met a stranger on a street he would smile and ask them, 'How you're doing? Where are you from? What can I do to help you?'"
Joanne Lusby, who owns a hardware store located across the street from the Mar-Va Theater, said of Lippoldt, "He was a friend to everybody in Pocomoke, whether he knew them or not. People loved him because he couldn't do enough for you and he was the same way with the theater. He just had to do more than his part."
Lippoldt's funeral will will be held Saturday, May 21, at the Mar-Va Theater.