Page 7 - The Friday Flyer• June 17, 2016

JUNE 17, 2016
THE FRIDAY FLYER A-7
Firefighters stationed them- selves along the route Tuesday as John Ruppert’s remains were taken to Evans- Brown Mortuary in Sun City.
Young father, firefighter dies in electrocution
PHOTO BY JARED CUTLER
BY DONNA RITCHIE
COLUMNIST, THE FRIDAY FLYER
Canyon Lake residents and the San Bernardino City Fire Department are mourning the loss of one of their own this week. Resident and firefighter John Ruppert succumbed to his injuries after being electrocuted on Thursday, June 9, while doing a routine maintenance check on a houseboat.
The Rupperts were vacationing in Lake Powell when the tragedy occurred. The exact cause and nature of the elec- trocution are still under investigation by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office.
Some of John’s co-workers trav- eled to Utah to be with his body until it could be brought home on Tuesday, June 14. A procession took place on lo- cal freeways to escort the body from the Ontario International Airport to the Evans-Brown Mortuary in Sun City. Firefighters were staged along the route as a show of respect.
John, 35, began his career in the Up- land Fire Department. He’s worked for the past decade at the San Bernardino City Fire Department. “He was a like- able guy with wit, charm and a positive attitude,” says friend and fellow fire-
fighter Jared Cutler.
Jared says, “John was a perfectionist
in all he did. He wasn’t large in stature, but his personality and passion for ev- erything he did was infectious. When- ever John was around he was smiling, laughing and having a good time.”
John and his wife Kristen met at a Starbucks in 2004. Ten years after they met, he still had the original piece of pa- per she wrote her phone number on that day. They married in Rome, Italy in 2008, and purchased a home in Canyon Lake later that same year. John purchased an Axis boat in 2010 and spent a lot of time on the back waters of Canyon Lake.
He was an avid wakeboarder and a member of the Canyon Lake Wakeboard Club. Jared says, “John had a wake- boarding style of his own. He took 2nd place in the 2011 Firefighter Olympics.”
“John also cared about the commu- nity he served in about as much as he cared for wakeboarding. So much so that he wanted to share the one thing that gave him so much joy with nearly 50 to 60 inner city kids from San Bernardino, most of whom had never been on a boat before,” says Jared. “John set up the ‘Wake the World’ event by himself. It turned out to be a successful event and
he had hopes to put together another one in the future.”
According to Jared, John also en- joyed snowboarding, dirt bike riding, paddleboarding and houseboating. He loved to spend time with his son at the track, and he really enjoyed vacationing in Lake Powell every year. He grew up vacationing in Lake Powell and wanted to pass that tradition on to his own fam- ily, so he bought a timeshare there.
Another friend, Jessica Yasumura, says, “John and Kristen did more things than some people do in a lifetime.”
In this picture from the Go- FundMe page, John Ruppert is pictured with his wife, Kristen, and children, Keira and Jackson.
To honor his friend, Jared plans to have a plaque dedicated to John and placed near the back waters in Canyon Lake where John spent much of his time.
John is survived by his wife, Kristen, and their two young children, 7-year-old Jackson and 4-year-old Keira. A Go- FundMe account has been set up for to help pay for expenses. To donate, visit https://www.gofundme.com/supportth- eRupperts.
Services will be held on Monday, June 20, at 11 a.m. at Canyon Lake Commu- nity Church, 30515 Railroad Canyon Rd.