Bob, Mike, Nicholas
At the end of church service Bob Kime spoke:
''When it is dark enough, you can see the stars''
We today are regretfully forced to find the words of Charles A. Beard far too appropriate. Though today we do not want to mourn the death of our friend and loved one, Nick Ruppman, but rather thank God that he lived.
We were given an exceptional gift in the life of Nick. We each shared in our own way in Nick's life and Nick played an important role in ours. It is amazing to look out and see the impact that Nick has made on so many of us. That impact was with us yesterday, today and will be with us tomorrow.
We all know what a warm, caring and wonderful individual Nick was. It is foolish for me to try and live all of your memories and thoughts, but rather I will share some experiences in my life that I hope will remind you of your own. One common denominator in all of us is that Nick could make us laugh and feel good about ourselves. That is why we love him so much. He was not just a successful worker, Nick made work fun. He was not just a diligent student, but rather he made learning humorous and eventful. If you had the opportunity to travel with him, you quickly realized that there was no better travel buddy for laughs.
To narrow down to one memory of Nick is virtually impossible, but one particular weekend stands out. You see Nick had an idea to go white water kayaking a few years back:
Anytime Nick had an idea he realized he needed a plan for his friends to buy into it. So Nick combines three friends from different times in his life. Mike Johnston from high school, Rich Gallun from work and me from college etc. One great thing about Nick is that he did not compartmentalize his friends. He could combine all of us without a problem.
Well it was a tough sell for Mike and me. So Nick promised us a wonderful chance to meet single women at the annual ''Paddle Dance''. Mike and I desperate enough jumped right in.
The start of the trip brought about our first problem. Who was going to drive? Well those of you that know Nick know how much he treasured his 1986 Ford Mustang. I always thought Nick liked the Stang because it had some sort of nostalgic value. But over the years I realized Nick loved the car because none of us ever wanted to ride in it so he never had to drive. Plus he always instilled the fear that we would never make it to our destination.
So I was given the task of driving. We decided to make a road trip out of the deal so we pulled off to a remote tavern in Northern Wisconsin. If you know Nick, you know how he loved his rustic taverns. So the three of us moseyed into the bar and ordered three beers on tap. The server brought them back and Nick asked ''how much?''
''$1.50'' she said.
Nick looked at us and then the three beers and questioned, ''for each or all three?''
''For all three,'' she replied.
I have never seen a look of such happiness. Smiling from ear to ear, Nick realized his search was over. He finally found a fiscally responsible beer.
We continued our trek to the hotel. Well, it was bad enough to drive six hours but I was also unloading the car. When I arrived at the room, I found Nick and Mike in their skivvies rolling around on the beds. Nick turned to me and said, ''so which bed do you want now!'' Needless to say, I spent the evening on the pull out sofa with a bar squarely in the middle of my back.
Well, the next morning bright and early we all showed up to white water kayak. Many were staring as we walked by because they knew there wasn't a way for me to fit into a kayak. I think Nick knew it the whole time. After everyone had their own chuckle at the thought of me inside a kayak, they offered me a white water canoe. I was shocked and disappointed to say the least. But with a little encouragement from Nick and Mike I forged ahead.
Little did I know the huge difference between a kayak and a canoe. A kayak is a slender piece of equipment built for speed and maneuverability. My canoe had a turning radius of an eighteen wheeler! Well, Nick truly enjoyed showing off his sport model to me. He would row over very quickly with short precise strokes, while I forged ahead worrying about tipping with every stroke.
One trick Nick liked to share was his ability to go under the water and pop right back up. Then he would turn to me and coolly ask, ''can you do that?'' Knowing perfectly well that in an open canoe I had a better chance of drowning than surviving a maneuver. Well, Nick and Mike laughed and laughed.
I thought maybe my saving grace was the Saturday night ''Paddle Dance''. Nick had Mike and I so excited. We walked into the hall and there were around 20 women there but they were all under the age of 12. And the strongest drink was Hawaiian Punch! Well you should have heard his laugh. It bellowed through the dance hall, through the river canyon walls and echoed over the water. It is that laughter that will echo in our memories forever.
In the life of Nick Ruppman we gained someone who loved, laughed and lived with family, co-workers and friends.
We thank you Nick for years of listening to our problems, not judging us, showing us how to love, the respect you showed for your parents, grandparents and family, being a role model for our children and loving Sherrie as only you knew how. We thank you for 30 years of love, laughter and friendship and most importantly today we thank you for a lifetime of memories.
We will miss you my friend.
Bob Kime
Bob, Nicholas, Nicholas