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UT Ball Games Still on Tap for Rippergers

UT retirees, RFSA members and nonagenarians, Betty and Eugene Ripperger, could be poster children for the current advice that staying active is essential to retaining physical and mental health into old age. Only recently have they slowed down a bit, but not so most people would notice. They made one concession to age on January 31 by moving into The Summit at Westlake Hills retirement home. Nevertheless, they still manage to keep up an active social life with friends and family, and faithfully attend all UT men's and women's basketball games as well as baseball and women's volleyball.

Part of slowing down for Betty was leaving her volunteer work with the LBJ Library, after 25 years of loyal service. A major operation in 1999 compelled her to stop singing in the choir at Covenant Presbyterian Church. That was a hard decision since she had sung in church choirs since she was 14. Up until several years ago she also had been one of the regular time-keepers for the Thanksgiving Rox Road Race and Taco Trot. She no longer volunteers for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Her ten-year tenure there began when the Center was still located in East Austin near the Hornsby Bend wastewater treatment facility and she followed the Center to its current location on LaCrosse Avenue in Southwest Austin.

The Rippergers came to Austin by way of Missouri, their home state. Though from different towns, they met while both were students at Kansas City Kansas Junior College during the depression years. Eugene went on to finish his bachelor's degree in civil engineering at Kansas State University.

A marriage that lasted 69 years began in 1940 in Chicago where Eugene had a job with Portland Cement and where he began night classes at Illinois Institute.>Their first daughter, Ann, was born there, and then, Betty relates, the day Ann's first tooth erupted was December 7, 1941 and their serene life changed drastically. Eugene wanted to contribute to the war effort so he joined the Army Corp of Engineers for research work in Cincinnati.>The young family moved with him, but the job wasn't quite what he had envisioned, said Betty, so he joined the Navy where he served 2 1/2 years as a radar officer on the heavy cruiser, Minneapolis.

Betty and Ann moved back to her parents home in Kansas City, MO, and with her parents helping with child care, Betty was able to finish her bachelor's degree in English Literature and Spanish at the University of Kansas City in Missouri (now the University of Missouri, Kansas City).

Their peacetime life began Christmas 1945 when Eugene was mustered out of the Navy. By January 1946 he had accepted a position as an instructor in civil engineering with the Civil Engineering Department at UT and they all moved to Austin, settling into a rental house at 1805 East First Street. While Betty concentrated on caring for her growing family, Eugene taught, was promoted to assistant professor and completed a master's degree in engineering Mechanics.>He then took a leave of absence to attend Stanford University to earn a doctorate/

After returning to Austin, Betty embarked on her volunteer career.>In addition to the activities already mentioned, she taught Sunday School and participated in UT's Ladies Club and Faculty Wives Club. After her three daughters were grown, she also did secretarial work several years at the School of Social Work.>

By the time Eugene retired in 1982 after a 36-year association with UT, Engineering Mechanics had been linked with aerospace engineering to become a separate department. After ÒretiringÓ he did consulting work.

During their 27-year retirement they've kept up their interest in sports and indulged in considerable travel, touring in England, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Western Canada as well as taking part in some of the RFSA travel trips.

With such a successful, long and active life, it would seem the Rippergers are well on their way celebrating100 years on Planet Earth.