Mary Alice (Clarke) Rupp died peacefully on October 17, 2019 at Wyoming Medical Center in the loving presence of family. She was born August 30, 1925 in Manhattan, KS to David Charles and Marjorie Kathleen (Page) Clarke, the middle child of five. She grew up in Bonner Springs and later Plainville, Kansas where her father was the publisher of the local newspaper. She graduated from Plainville High School in 1943 and she attended Fort Hays Kansas State University where she met her future husband, James Rupp. They were married after the war. Following his graduation from law school Jim entered the oil business and the couple moved about living in Hays, Denver, Oklahoma City, Casper, New York and California. Following their divorce in 1970, Mary who had completed her degree in elementary education at the University of Colorado, accepted a teaching position at the local elementary school in Walden, CO. When she took that job little did she know she was going to live there for many years. She loved teaching and living in Walden and enjoyed the people and the outdoor activities available in the North Park area. She was always thrilled when a former student would greet her in some unsuspecting place. After retiring from teaching, in 2001 Mary moved to Fort Collins, CO where she lived for about ten years. She was active in the programs of the local senior center and served on its resident counsel. In 2011, at age 86, she moved to the Primrose Retirement Community in Casper, WY to be closer to her family until her death.

Mary was the mother of two children of whom she was inordinately proud. Her oldest, Jo Diane (Jody), was born in 1948 and youngest James (Jamie) was born in 1962. She often said she raised two “only children." She took her children’s spouses into her heart and treated them as her own; they in turn loved her dearly. Her greatest joy was being in the presence of family. Jamie’s death in a mountain climbing accident in 2017 was a devastating blow from which she never quite recovered.

While generally a quiet, modest, self-effacing woman, Mary was not afraid to stand up for what she thought was right and speak her mind. She strongly believed in the value of a good education and was a voracious reader. In her younger years she enjoyed traveling including several trips to England, the home country of her mother. Mary and her brothers and sisters enjoyed each other’s company and often traveled together. She enjoyed puzzles and card games such as bridge. She was a fearsome Scrabble player knowing the most obscure words in the English language. She didn’t like to lose, particularly to her children.

Preceding her in death are her parents; sister, Shirley Carmichael; brother-in-law, Orlan Carmichael; brother-in-law, Ed Cabler; and son, Dr. James (Jamie) Rupp. Survivors include her daughter, Jody Boeding (Tom) of Kansas City, KS; daughter-in-law, Sandy Rupp; grandsons, Alex and Tom Rupp all of Casper, and Demetrius E Hodges of Los Angeles, CA; Sister, Ruth Cabler of Port Ludlow, WA; brothers, David Clarke of Boca Raton, FL; and John Clarke (Sabra) of Ness City, KS; in addition six nephews and four nieces and their families survive.

Services private.

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