John Earnest Ruprecht Jr., 87, of Carver, born in Plymouth, and formerly of Kingston and Plympton, passed away peacefully on Dec. 18, surrounded by family. A loving father and grandfather, he will be remembered for his love of horticulture and local sports.
He was born in 1937 to John Ruprecht Sr. and Aili (Alander) of Kingston. He was a longtime fan of the New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox, for whom he would often make annual trips to Ft. Myers, Florida for spring Training. At the time it was unclear if the Red Sox deserved his undying fandom, since he would suffer through 66 long years of winless baseball before eventually tasting sweet victory in 2004. John watched, amongst the crowd and with his only son by his side, as the Red Sox recorded the final out that night to become World Series champions.
He was graduate of the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, now part of UMass Amherst. He spent many years learning the family business at Kingston Nursery. Later, people came to know John as owner and operator of Kingston Landscaping and Winslow Christmas Tree Farm.
His years in retirement were spent offering hayrides through the Sauchuk Corn Maze, riding on his Kubota tractor. Most recently, he could be found tending to a large variety of daylilies at his Ring Road Daylily Farm. Those familiar with him would often easily identify John by his signature Red Sox cap. A man who did not know how to quit, John would never slow down, never stop working.
His passion for sports was second only to his love for his family. Those two elements meant that as soon as his grandchildren could step onto a field to compete, he was going to be the number one fan to each of them. From Pottle Street to Silver Lake, baseball to softball, John was the beacon of support. Even with soccer, which was likely not a sport he naturally gravitated toward, John would watch passionately because his family is what he held dearest of all.
John is survived by his siblings: James Ruprecht Sr. and his wife Sharon of Kingston, and Linda Heise and her husband Kenneth of Waterboro, ME.
He is also survived by his four children, Joanne Cuccia of Halifax, Jacqueline Karp and her husband Jeff of Taunton, Janice Hayward and her husband Steve of Halifax, and John Ruprecht III and his wife Nicole of Kingston; grandchildren Joseph Cuccia, Amanda Peterson, Michael Maass, Michelle Dunn, Renee Calvin, Samantha Calvin, Jack Ruprecht, Alexandra Ruprecht, Isabelle Ruprecht; and six great-grandchildren, many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents as well as siblings Margaret Briggs of Pembroke, William Ruprecht of Middleborough, and Earl David Ruprecht of Worcester.
A visitation will take place at Cartmell-Davis Funeral Home Funeral Home 373 Court St., Plymouth, on Thursday, Dec. 26, from 4 to 7 p.m. A cemetery service will be held at Central Cemetery in Halifax on Friday, Dec. 27th at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please plant something in your own yard to remember John. For more information and to sign the online guestbook please visit the funeral home site.