Lupton attended the University of North Carolina and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Upon returning home from service, he began his work in the family's Coca-Cola bottling business.

Continuing in the tradition of his family, Lupton is a philanthropist who has given freely of his time and his resources. He has served his community of Chattanooga in many ways including his creation in 1986 of the River City Company for the purpose of rejuvenating downtown Chattanooga. Today, the Tennessee Aquarium is a Chattanooga landmark and a monument to the generosity of Lupton and his family.

The building of a great golf course in the Chattanooga area was not the original idea of Lupton, but he made it happen. The Honors Course, north of Chattanooga in Ooltewah, was completed in 1983 to honor all of the great Tennessee amateurs who have represented the Volunteer State for more than one hundred years. The club's policy is to host only exceptional amateur tournaments or those sponsored by the USGA. The Honors Course was ranked twenty-first in Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses. In addition to hosting the 1991 U. S. Amateur and the 1994 Curtis Cup, the Honors Course has been the scene of the 1986 Southern Amateur, the 1996 NCAA Championship, the 1987 State Women's Amateur and the 1989 and 1999 State Amateurs. To this day, the Honors Course is considered the finest course in Tennessee.

Through Lyndhurst Foundation, the Lupton family has given over $3 million to the Tennessee Golf Foundation and has assisted in raising millions more. Golf House Tennessee and the Little Course at Aspen Grove, made possible by Lupton's contributions, are models of excellence for the country.