“He was the sweetest man I’ve ever known.”

It was a phrase many people used to describe Robert Lippman, and perhaps no words capture him better.

Robert died peacefully in his sleep on September 30, 2026, at the age of 90, on the Palliative Care floor at Baptist Health, surrounded by his wife, son, and daughter.

Robert was a psychologist and psychoanalyst who spent much of his professional life in private practice in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. For his patients, colleagues, friends, and family, however, his gifts extended far beyond his profession. He was a kind, gentle, thoughtful, deeply curious man—a person who listened carefully, spoke softly, and possessed an unusual capacity to understand and accept other human beings.

He was also a devoted scholar of Sigmund Freud and the history of psychoanalysis. Freud was not simply an academic interest for Robert, but the subject of decades of reading, thinking, writing, and reflection. His scholarship earned recognition within the psychoanalytic community, and he was invited to present his work internationally, including in Vienna in connection with the centennial commemoration of Freud’s work. Dramatic works he wrote have been performed in Kentucky and New York.

Robert Louis Lippman was born on May 15, 1936, in the Bronx, New York, to Irving and Molly Lippman. He earned a PhD in clinical psychology from Texas Tech University. He was married to Grace Lippman from 1964 until her death in 1991. He married Hiroko Driver in 2004.

He is survived by his wife, Hiroko; his children, Susan and David Lippman; his daughter-in-law, Tina Lippman; and his granddaughter, Lucy Lippman. He is also survived by his stepsons, Daniel and Jason Driver, as well as Jason’s wife, Jessica, and their children, Grace and Kaia. Survivors also include his brother Larry and sister-in-law Judith; his sister Sonia Hudes and brother-in-law Dick Hudes, along with other family members and many friends, colleagues, and former patients whose lives were touched by him. He was pre-deceased by his sister Stella and his parents.

His family is deeply grateful to the physicians, nurses, and staff of Baptist Health Palliative Care for the compassion, dignity, and kindness they showed Robert and his family during his final days.

Service will be held at All Peoples Unitarian-Universalist Congregation, 4936 Brownsboro Rd. Louisville, KY 40222. Reception immediately follows the service.

The service will also be viewed and recorded on Zoom for those who cannot attend.

Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/92276752932