Gregory Alan Ruppert

He grew up in Stuart and graduated from Stuart-Menlo High School in 1975. Greg began work at the Stuart Truck Haven Café in 1972, at age 14, washing dishes after school and on weekends. In 1973, he was hired at the new Harris House Restaurant in Stuart, first as a line cook, and later assumed the job of kitchen manager and then assistant manager. He left there in 1979, to pursue a career with Greater Community Hospital Emergency Department and Union Co. Ambulance Service in Creston, and then with Capital City Ambulance in Des Moines, as an EMT-A, having achieved that designation at age 17 with the Stuart Rescue Unit, where he served for several years. In Des Moines, he graduated as an EMT-1 from Mercy Medical Center, in the first class held at Des Moines, in 1981. A year later he graduated from Mercy as a Paramedic, in the first class held in Des Moines. He also enjoyed working at the 5X80 Country Club with friends Bob and Darlene Kane and the gang.

In Des Moines, he was employed as a Paramedic Supervisor for the Des Moines Hospital Consortium, and helped to train Paramedic students and write the street protocols for the Des Moines Fire Department EMT-P students, as well as subsequent suburban and surrounding county paramedic students from Mercy Program for their street certification.

At the time he held certifications as a B.C.L.S. and A.C.L.S. Provider and Instructor, as well as Emergency Rescue Technician Instructor, and was a volunteer EMT-P and firefighter with Clive Fire Department for eight years, and continued to volunteer for Stuart Rescue when home for the weekends for several more years.

Greg was one of five founding Board Members, organizers and paramedics with County Paramedic Assist; a non-profit volunteer paramedic group based in Clive, designed to train EMT-1 and paramedic students to their certification level on emergency calls; serving Clive, Urbandale, Windsor Heights, West Des Moines, Grimes, Granger, Dallas and Madison County Fire and Rescue Departments, with self-raised funds and donated equipment from area citizens, doctors and hospitals. He and his colleagues trained hundreds of care-givers, EMT and paramedic students over the years to help others with their squads and the people of their communities. Greg responded to thousands of emergency calls, delivered two babies and saved many lives over the years.

When the consortium dissolved in 1984, Greg started a DJ service, playing the oldies in Des Moines, and he also enrolled at Drake University to fulfill requirements for mortuary collage. He transferred to the University of Central Oklahoma Mortuary Science Program in 1987, graduating there with a Bachelor of Science degree in Funeral Service Education, cum laude, in 1988.

Greg was hired before graduation by Hamilton’s Funeral Home in Des Moines, where he served for seven years as a licensed funeral director and embalmer, preparation room manager and buyer for the firm. Greg also worked for three years at Cunnick-Collins Mortuary in Davenport before returning to Stuart in 1998 to fulfill a long-time dream of operating a funeral home in Stuart. For 25 years he helped hundreds of families through one of the most difficult times in their lives. In December of 2007, Greg sold the business and semi-retired. He continued to manager D&G Leasing Co.

Greg was a life-long member of the Stuart-Mt. Vernon Methodist Church; was a former member of Stuart Rock Island Railroad Depot Restoration Committee; a Chairman and member of the Stuart Downtown Revitalization Commission; Stuart Chamber of Commerce; Sigma Phi Sigma Professional Fraternity; University of Central Oklahoma Alumni Association; Iowa Funeral Directors Association, and he was a sponsor of, and participant in, many local projects during his years in business. He was involved in volunteer work and community betterment continuously for over 30 years and very much enjoyed his association with all of the good people of Clive, Des Moines, Davenport, Stuart, Menlo and the surrounding areas and the many friends he made while there.

Greg enjoyed restoring classic cars, small vehicles, gas pumps and jukeboxes with his father, his ‘best buddy’. He was a fan of the New York Yankees, and most all music. He was grateful to have been able to honor many deceased American Veterans by bugling “Taps” at their funerals for 33 years, as a volunteer.

He is survived by his cousins; Denny and Jeanie Estes, Diane (Estes) and husband Tom Federspiel, Jane (Estes) Bradley, Brad and Sundie Ruppert, Debra Ruppert, Lynn (Ruppert) and husband Steve Winburn, Pat (Partlow) and husband Stan Taylor, and their families, and an aunt, Helen (Ruppert) Marler.

Those who passed before include; his grandparents: Manly and Nellie Ruppert, of Casey and M.S. and Freda Wheatley, of Stuart; his parents; four uncles; Edwin Ruppert, Veryl Ruppert, Harry Estes and Mervyn Partlow; four aunts, Muriel Estes, Ruby Wheatley, Shirley Ruppert and Naomi Partlow, and a cousin, Steve Partlow.

A private graveside inurnment service will be held at South Oak Grove. Memorials, in lieu of flowers, may be directed to: Ruppert Memorial – West Central Valley Scholarship Trust for deserving seniors, in care of the school at Stuart.