Mary M (Ruppert) Trosper- Zimbelman

     Mary was born on November 1st, 1939, to Jay and Doris (Meisner) Ruppert, in Quick, Neb., and passed September 28th, 2021, at the age of 29 and a half. (She quit counting after that!)

     Mary attended grade school in Quick. When she entered middle school, she stayed in the dorms at Curtis.  While there she worked to help pay her way until she graduated high school. After high school she worked as a phone operator until she met and married Gary Trosper on June 1, 1958, in Norton Kansas. To this union three children were born: Greg, Benny and Sharla.

     They made their home in Cambridge as she worked side by side with her husband doing custom farming and Metal Craft irrigation. She was the best hired man he ever had! In addition, she drove a school bus before and after work and enjoyed being an EMT, teaching CPR, coaching softball, and helping with Scouts, in her free time. She was known as “Mom”, not just to her own children, but most of the kids in town.

     In 1987 she began traveling with Gary while he worked, settling down in both Arizona and Nevada for a time. After Gary’s death, she moved back to Cambridge where she worked as a CMA at Cambridge Manor.  She spent much of her free time on the dance floor with friend and sister-in-law Donna Wier. It was there she met her second husband, Marlin Zimbleman. She and Marlin were married April 26th, 1992, in Cambridge, Neb.

     They made their home in Goodland, Kansas and she worked on the farm alongside Marlin. They enjoyed being active with the Red Cross Disaster Team and were prepared to be called in a moment’s notice for emergencies across the United States, including Hurricane Katrina, and 9/11 at the Pentagon. They also volunteered for The Shriners and enjoyed relaxing at their trailer near Trenton Lake.

     After Marlin’s death, she moved to McCook where her full-time job and greatest joy became doting on her grandchildren and great grandchildren, attending every sports game, musical and field day. She went from all the kids in town calling her “mom” to calling her “grandma”.

     She is preceded in death by her parents, Jay and Doris; husbands, Gary and Marlin; siblings: Dale Ruppert, John Ruppert, Homer Ruppert, Bob Ruppert, Ann Rowley; and numerous beloved brother and sisters-in-law and other relations. She is survived by children, Greg and Heidi Trosper, Benny and Corina Trosper, Sharla Trosper; grandchildren, Derrick, Britta, Kaden, Shelby, Haley, Zach, Amber, Hunter; and nine great grandchildren with another on the way, as well as many more family members and friends. She was a strong and feisty woman who made a difference in so many lives and will never be forgotten by anyone who was lucky enough to know her.

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