Keith Donald Ruppert served in the United States Air Force as a clarinet player in the Pacific Northwest Air Force Band based in Tacoma, Washington.

He worked for much of his life as an electronics engineer for many companies; First was General Electric in Utica, New York, where he designed, built, and patented two products that are widely used today. The first was a portable intercom system which is most commonly used in a baby monitor, and the second was a portable electronic chord organ.

Next, he worked for Baldwin Piano and Organ in Cincinnati, Ohio. Then General Electric Audio Products Division in Decatur, Illinois, followed by Gates Radio Company in Quincy, Illinois, and then Philco-Ford in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

After that he worked for Motorola in Tempe, Arizona, Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and finally Sylvania, in Batavia, New York.

Later in his career he worked for Arizona State University in both the Physical Education department, where among his many contributions, he designed a new light beam sensor used for testing the athletes, and finally the geography department, working mainly with computers and programming, until he retired in 1995.

Keith is survived by his five children,  four sisters, and two brothers, 18 grandchildren and 11 great-grand-children.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Edith Signe Opstad Ruppert and their second child, parents Donald George Ruppert and Helen Adelaide Kelso, stepfather, stepmother, and a sister.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9 at Mountain Reformed Church located at 6520 East 1st Street, Prescott Valley, Arizona 86314.