By Charles Young, WV News
ELKVIEW, W.Va. — A funeral and memorial for Steven Lipscomb, the mine foreman who died while helping fellow miners reach safety, are scheduled for Saturday.
Lipscomb’s body was recovered last Thursday at the Rolling Thunder Mine in Nicholas County following a multi-day search and rescue effort.
The memorial service will be held Saturday at Herbert Hoover High School. Visitation will take place at from 1 to 4 p.m., with a funeral service beginning at 4 p.m.
According to officials, Lipscomb became trapped in the flooded mine after working to help other miners escape, assuring no one else was injured or killed.
Lipscomb “left this world the way he lived his life, putting others first,” according to his obituary.
Lipscomb, 42, was a decorated Marine veteran who was inspired to join the military following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
He served as a rifleman and was among the first wave of Marines to enter Fallujah, Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was severely injured by a roadside bomb and received a Purple Heart. His additional commendations included the Combat Action Ribbon, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Service medals, Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Rifle Marksman Badge and Pistol Marksman Badge. He was honorably discharged as a lance corporal.
Lipscomb began working in underground mining in 2006 with Massey Energy, later Alpha Natural Resources, often alongside his brother, Joseph. He became a foreman in 2015 and an EMTM in 2016, a role that allowed him to provide emergency medical care in mines. Colleagues regarded him as a devoted leader who repeatedly risked his life to help others.
Speaking about Lipscomb outside the mine, Gov. Patrick Morrisey remembered him as the “quintessential West Virginian.”
“First serving our nation in the Marine Corps and then, by all accounts of listening to the people who were there, he really seemed to want to do everything to save the lives of the other miners,” he said.
Image courtesy of WV News