Creemore is saying goodbye to the Ruppels, who in their 22 years in the community have certainly left their mark.
Paul is known locally as the go-to guy for many local organizations. Jean’s involvement is more peripheral but as she says, “You are still pulled in, especially when you have a husband like Paul.”
By ‘like Paul’, she means a volunteer proficient at working within a social network to make things happen and get things done. Wherever he finds himself with likeminded movers and shakers, plans are hatched and Paul does not shy away from doing a lot of legwork for the projects he cares about.
Paul has dedicated himself to St. John’s United Church, the Creemore Curling Club, Purple Hills Arts and Heritage Society, the Mad and Noisy Gallery, the Collingwood Probus Club, Special Olympics, Clearview Township’s accessibility committee and most notably, the building of the Station on the Green.
Paul led the fundraising effort for the construction, which came out of a brainstorming session with friends about a millennial project.
He says 495 people contributed to the building of the Station on the Green, making it a true community effort.
“It’s certainly nothing I did myself, I had a lot of support,” he said.
He says there were many people to share the load.
“You couldn’t do all these things without people to help,” says Paul during a sit-down in the family room at the Ruppels’ home on Purple Hill Lane.
There is a sold sign out front and a closing day of July 9 is fast approaching. Their pictures are coming down off the wall and boxes are piling up in the corners.
The Ruppels are moving to a retirement community in Waterloo. Paul’s family has roots in the area.
They first came to Creemore after a real estate agent recommended they see the house on their way back home to Montreal after a reconnaissance mission to see of they wanted to live in the area.
Jean said they liked the area and when they found out their children lived not-too-far away, that was icing on the cake.
Since then, the Ruppels have made many friends in the area.
“You can leave a house but it is hard to leave the people,” said Jean.
A farewell party is being organized in honour of the couple. Everyone is invited to the send-off from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 12, at Station on the Green.
Laughing, Jean said people will think Paul is never home but he can also be found in the garden or working on a building project. In addition to doing so much for Clearview Township, Paul has been a wonderful husband and father to their three children, she said.
She also said there have been many times when people have asked Paul to get involved with a project but he has passed.
“If he doesn’t want to do it, he won’t get involved,” said Jean.
But when he does want to get involved, he is a dedicated and efficient volunteer and his absence in this community will surely leave people wondering who to go to with the next big idea.
For his dedication, Paul was given the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2012 and was chosen as an Olympic torchbearer in Huntsville in 2012. He was The Creemore Echo’s 2008 volunteer of the year and was one of On the Bay’s grassroots heroes in 2015.