NEWS

Whitney: Inmate's generosity rings true

Stu Whitney
swhitney@argusleader.com
Chris Chipps is serving a 25-year sentence for property crimes at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield. He's looking for ways to reach beyond the walls.

Spending time in prison makes you appreciate signs of hope, if only because they’re rare.

Every so often, something breaks through the monotony to announce that life has the power to surprise, challenge and inspire even those who feel most helpless.

For Chris Chipps, a 33-year-old inmate at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield, the sign came in the form of a photo. While scanning his hometown paper, the Chamberlain Sun, he saw an article about a 5-year-old girl named Emma Bohon, whose health battles caused heartbreak and hardship for her family.

Emma suffers from Kawasaki disease, which causes inflammation in the walls of arteries that supply blood to the heart, leading to frequent trips to the Mayo Clinic for treatment. Complications involving a blood disease led doctors to fear that she might have leukemia.

“My daughter is about the same age, and it touched something in me,” says Chipps, who is serving a 25-year sentence for property crimes. “It hit a soft spot in my heart. I have three children of my own, and I know what it’s like to feel helpless, but not to that degree. I knew there was something I could do.”

Matter of trust

For most of his life, Chipps was known for taking things.

He grew up in southern California as an only child and the son of a single mother, stung by the steady absence of a father he never knew. Diagnosed with anxiety and borderline personality disorder, Chipps got involved with drugs and was quick to lash out, moving in and out of juvenile detention.

He took people’s property. He took their identity. He took and lost people’s trust.

Chris Chipps poses with his three children at a powwow at the prison. Chipps is one-quarter Native American.

“There were lots of highs and lows,” says his mother, Tracy Urich, who moved to South Dakota when her son was 18 and lives in Chamberlain. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in front of a judge, pleading with them to help my son.”

Chipps compiled a lengthy rap sheet of crimes involving burglary, drug possession and impaired driving. He admits to methamphetamine use, which led to stealing to feed that addiction.

In 2014, a jury convicted him of one count of second-degree burglary and four counts of identity theft for breaking into a home in Whitewood and later using stolen credit cards. Facing a second trial for additional crimes, Chipps pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft.

He was sentenced to 30 years in state prison (with five suspended) despite a psychological evaluation that found “substantial psychiatric disorders which involve thought, mood, and behavior.” It was a harsh sentence that took into account Chipps’ prior criminal history, and he responded in typical fashion.

“He was very angry,” says Tracy of her son, who is not eligible for parole until 2028. “It took him a while to mature and a lot of work for him to start thinking spiritually and learn from his mistakes.”

Behind the walls

The worst part for Chipps was the aching realization that lives would unfold outside the walls without any involvement from him.

He thought about his sons, 13-year-old Caden and 10-year-old Gavin, who live in Reliance with his ex-wife, and his 6-year-old daughter Nikayla, who lives in Irene with his former girlfriend.

Also on his mind was his grandmother, Patty Keoke, who battled cancer for more than a decade and passed away in February of 2015, not long after Chipps entered prison.

Chipps spent time his grandfather, a tribal elder of the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Tribe in Minnesota.

So when the newspaper photo of Emma Bohon caught his eye and he read about her family’s struggles, an idea emerged that he just couldn’t shake.

Chipps is one-quarter Native American and an enrolled member of the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Tribe in Minnesota, which operates Treasure Island Resort and Casino near Hastings. He receives profit-sharing funds through that affiliation.

His grandfather, Fred Urich, is an Army veteran and tribal elder in Minnesota who has helped stage powwows at Prairie Island.

Chipps asked his mother to withdraw $5,000 from his account and deliver the money to Erin Bohon, Emma’s mother, who works at Noteboom Implement in Chamberlain along with her husband, Dave.

“I’d made so many poor choices,” Chipps says of that decision. “I wanted to do something that I knew was right.”

Act of generosity

Erin Bohon had a lot on her mind the day Tracy Urich walked into the power tool dealership and asked to meet with her.

Her daughter’s struggles with Kawasaki disease were compounded by a diagnosis of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a blood disease that prevents clotting. The family’s insurance plan had stopped covering Emma’s care several months earlier, saying her case was under review.

Another daughter, 4-year-old Jade, was healing from heart issues caused by her own Kawasaki diagnosis, and Erin herself faced testing to ensure that an earlier fight against breast cancer didn’t need to be renewed.

Tracy Urich, Chipps' mother, poses with her granddaughter, Nikayla.

“It’s hard for us to see our girls go through such a difficult time at such a young age,” she told Tracy, who handed her an envelope and explained Chris’ gift. The fact that the gesture came from a prison inmate was not jarring for Erin, whose husband served time in jail when he was younger.

“My first thought was, ‘Any little bit helps,’” says Erin. “Then I went home and opened the envelope and thought, ‘Oh my God.’”

The donation of $5,000 was bolstered by a community fundraiser and online GoFundMe account, lessening the sting of doctor visits to Sioux Falls and Rochester, Minn.

“It is truly amazing to see there are still people out there with big hearts,” Erin wrote in a letter to Chipps in prison, signed by the Bohon family. “We have tried to keep our heads up and have faith, but there are days when it can be very trying. I hope that you never have to go through anything like this with your beautiful little girl. I hope she knows she has a pretty amazing dad who has shined light on our difficult road.”

Making a difference

Tracy admits to a moment of skepticism when she first heard of her son’s plan. After years of empty promises and legal run-ins, it was natural for her to probe for more details.

“I needed to know that it was truly coming from his heart,” says Tracy, a born-again Christian who serves as legal conservator of Chris’ finances. “I should have known when he broke down and told me how Emma reminded him of Nikayla. It was like someone else was talking to me. I’m amazed at the transformation in my son.”

Sioux Falls lawyer Grant Alvine, who has represented Chipps, doesn’t recall a state prison inmate showing philanthropy to strangers in this regard. But that doesn’t mean he’s shocked.

“Getting away from drugs and clearing his head helped reinforce the idea of Chris as a kind person,” Alvine says. “To be thinking of others when he’s in that situation, well, most people wouldn’t do it.”

Chipps enjoyed the feeling so much that he wants to do it again. Twice. He plans to donate two gifts of $5,000 to needy families, one living East River and the other on the west side of the state. They can submit an application to his mother explaining their situation and how they will use the money.

“There are a lot of things I wish I could do over,” says Chipps. “This is a way to provide help for people who need it and show my children how generous and living we should all be.”

His financial status gives him a unique opportunity he is determined not to waste. As feelings of helplessness subside and days take on meaning, one thing becomes clear.

These donations are life-changing for the giver as much as those who receive.

Argus Leader Media city columnist Stu Whitney can be reached at swhitney@argusleader.com. Follow him on Twitter @sutwhitney

SEEKING HELP

Those who wish to apply for a $5,000 donation from Chris Chipps can send a note to Tracy Urich at tracydonner@yahoo.com describing the details of their hardship, what they plan to do with the money and their mailing address in South Dakota.