Obituary of Ronald F. Rippey

Ronald F. Rippey, age 70, of Wayne passed away on Tuesday, August 26, 2014 at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Mr. Rippey was born January 24, 1944 in Passaic, NJ the son of the late Frank and the late Helen (Dittrik) Rippey. Mr. Rippey was first a sports editor and then a handicapper at the Star Ledger for more than 30 years. He was previously employed by The Trends, Wayne Today, and Paterson News. Mr. Rippey won the handicapping title and, this month, he won a tournament hosted by the Wynn Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. He was inducted into the Paterson Old Timers Hall of Fame and he received an ESPY Award for handicapping from television network ESPN. Mr. Rippey also has writings in the Library of Congress. Mr. Rippey was raised in Paterson where his father, Frank, was the organist for St. Mary's R.C. Church. He attended St. Mary's High School with his wife Arlene. They dated in high school and would meet at Netzer's, the local sweet shop on Union Ave., after school. At the age of 21, Ron became one of the first open heart surgery patients in the United States at the National Instiututes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Mr. Rippey loved family vacations and enjoyed going to Kauai, Hawaii. Mr. Rippey was the beloved husband of 47 years of Arlene (Bassano) Rippey; loving father of Ron and his wife Jennifer Rippey and Dr. Kelly Rippey; devoted grandfather of Rachel, Lindsay, Chloe, Tabitha & Elijah; and dear brother of Katherine Carlucci and William Bruterri. Visiting hours will be Friday from 6-9 p.m. The funeral Mass will be Saturday at 10:00 am at Our Lady of Consolation R.C. Church, 1799 Hamburg Tpke., Wayne and will be celebrated by Fr. Michael D. Lombardo. Interment will be in Laurel Grove Memorial Park, Totowa. In memory of Mr. Rippey, donations may be made to NJ Sharing Network Foundation, 691 Central Ave, New Providence, NJ 07974. www.njsharingnetwork.org