Ruppe was born in the small town of
Laurium, Michigan, and graduated from high school in 1944. He is of Slovak and Slovenian descent. He attended the
V-12 Navy College Training Program at
Central Michigan University and
University of Michigan, 1944–1946 and graduated from
Yale University in 1948. He served in
United States Navy during the
Korean War as a
lieutenant. He then served as director of Houghton National Bank, Commercial National Bank of L'Anse and R.L. Polk and Co.
Political activity In 1966, Ruppe was the
Republican Party candidate for the
United States House of Representatives from
Michigan's 11th congressional district. He defeated incumbent
Democratic Party member
Raymond F. Clevenger, one of the "
Five Fluke Freshmen", to be elected to the
90th United States Congress and was subsequently re-elected to the next five Congresses, serving from January 3, 1967, to January 3, 1979. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1978 to the 96th Congress. Republican
Bob Davis from the town of
St. Ignace, Michigan won election succeeding him in the district.
Post-political career and personal life After leaving Congress, Ruppe was an unsuccessful candidate for the
United States Senate in
1982 against
Donald Riegle. He served as president of Woodlak Company to 1986. After a decade out of politics, Ruppe sought to retake his old district, now renumbered as the
Michigan's 1st congressional district. He lost to former
Michigan House of Representatives member
Bart Stupak. Ruppe married his first wife,
Loret Miller Ruppe, in 1957 and they had five daughters. Loret was a member of the
United States Electoral College for Michigan in 1980, Director of the Peace Corps from 1981 to 1989, and U.S. Ambassador to
Norway from 1989 to 1993. After her death on August 6, 1996, he then married his second wife, Ann Hammond Boutell of
Palm Beach, Florida in 2000. Ann Boutell Ruppe died on December 25, 2022. Ruppe is a member of the
American Legion,
Veterans of Foreign Wars, and
Rotary International and currently resides in
Bethesda, Maryland. ==References==