Keith Edward Rupel

Keith Edward Rupel ,96, of Elkhart passed away on April 13, 2021 at his home. Keith was born in South Bend to the late Earl and Berta (Grunert) Rupel on June 10, 1924.

He married Imogene Page of South Bend. She passed away on June 5, 2016. Keith had three brothers, two of which preceded him in death, Wayne and Dale Rupel both of South Bend. His son, Gary Edward Rupel also precedes him in death.

Surviving are his daughter, Sandra Gentry of Easy Leroy, MI; his brother Dean Rupel of Granger; granddaughters, Lisa Henderson of Davenport, Fl, Heather (Paul) Sheldon of Elkhart, Heather (Clark) Shaffer of Richland, MI; a grandson, Anthony Simmons of Maui; nieces, B.J. Rupel of South Bend, Linda Bower of Granger, and Karen (Clark) Pillsbury of Reno, NV; a nephew, Mike Rupel of Monticello, IN; three great granddaughters, and two great grandsons.

Keith served three years in the Army during WWII. He spent one and a half years in Europe with the 26th infantry division. He served in Patton’s Army and was at the Battle of the Bulge. Keith graduated from Purdue in 1950. He was a member of the President Council, John Purdue Club and served as an Alumni Director. Keith was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church for over 50 years where he served as a trustee. He worked for Miller Steel before starting his own business REPCO in 1963. Keith retired in 1988. From 1994-2014 Keith volunteered as a redcoat at Elkhart Hospital.

Keith and Imo’s favorite vacation was to the Smokey Mountains. He loved golf and Purdue. Many trips were made to Purdue for home basketball (men and women’s) games and football games. Trips were made to Bowl and tournament games in Florida, California, Texas, Alaska, and Hawaii.

Keith met every Tuesday with his friends from work. He also met with an extended work group at Martin’s on Nappanee for donuts and coffee every Friday.

In 2015 Keith was able to go on the Honor Flight to Washington DC. Keith believed in helping others. He has been involved in a project with Lifeline and was anticipating the completion of Imo’s Den this year.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Lifeline for Imo’s Den 174 State Street Elkhart, IN 46516.

Visitation for Keith will be at Hartzler-Gutermuth-Inman Funeral Home Monday, April 19, 2021 from 10:00AM-12:00PM with the service to follow. Pastor Spencer Mielke will be officiating, and burial will be at Chapel Hill where military honors will be rendered.

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