Obituary of Vincent Edward Ripper

Vincent Ripper was born on January 13, 1943, in St. Louis, Missouri, one of five children born to Clarence and Margaret Lander Ripper. Vince attended seminary school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, however, in 1961 he decided that he wanted to serve his country and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Vince became a radar operator serving aboard the Lockheed Super Constellation aircraft and was stationed in Newfoundland running surveillance patrols in the North Atlantic. Vince had 3 loves of his life: Rita Pierson, Patricia Kirkpatrick Thomason, and Elayne Stettmeier. While employed by AMF Corporation in 1970, Vince met Patricia and her 3 children while attending technical training in Costa Mesa, California. He and Patricia married, and the family moved to Missouri until 1982 when they relocated to Phoenix, Arizona. Throughout his career, Vince held various other technical and management jobs at Xerox, Goodyear Tire, Ming Auto, and Firestone. In 1985 Vince found his real calling and became a professional handyman. He took pride in his work and loved fixing things but most of all he loved his customers. Vince was always willing to help others and often was called “Vince the Prince” which always made him smile. In 2019, Vince relocated to Florissant, Missouri to be near his sister Sue. During this time, he enjoyed going to the pool several times a week, meeting new people, getting pedicures, and eating at Chinese buffets. Vince was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by his daughter Audrey Smith, sons Brian and Cary Thomason, his brothers Dick and Chris, his sisters Judi and Susan, and numerous grandchildren and nieces and nephews.