Thomas Donald Ruperd

Thomas  “Tom” Donald Ruperd; AKA Santa in the Thumb; of Caro, Michigan.  Tom entered eternal rest on May 5, 2025 at home surrounded by his loving family at 73 years of age.  Tom is the loving and devoted husband of Ruth Ann Ruperd; loving father of Melissa Haynes and Aubrey (A.J.) Kauthen; loving stepfather of Shentele Sudds, Samantha (Michael) Haston, and Paul (Laura) Johnson and loving grandfather of Morgan, Cyle, Timothy, Patrick, Jason, and Ally.  He is also survived by his sister Rosemary (Rick) Dubniak and brother Edward (Betty) Ruperd. Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Howard and Agnes; and by his brother Howard Ruperd Jr. He was born in Troy in 1952 and lived in Troy until 1974 when he married his first wife and moved to Oxford. He began working at Ford Motor Company in 1970 in Experimental Engineering, later becoming a Forklift Driver.  He met Ruth, his current wife in 1996 at Ford. They moved to Caro in 2001 then married in June 2002.  He retired from Ford in June of 2006 after 36 years of service. In 2008, he began vocation as “Santa in the Thumb”. He loved entertaining children and brought joy and smiles to everyone no matter where he was. He attended Charles W. Howard Santa School in Midland, MI in 2009, 2010, 2011 and made many Santa friends. Tom performed his Santa duties in Flint, The Santa House in Bay City, and in Saginaw. When he was not working at Ford or playing Santa he enjoyed woodworking and built many things for his family and friends. Tom also enjoyed music and played the banjo and guitar in his free time. His favorite band was Allison Krause and Union Station. During his illness, he enjoyed watching the freighters on the St. Clair River on You Tube. His favorite freighter was the Paul R. Tregurtha.

A Memorial Service wil be held on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. at Sparks-Griffin Funeral Home in Lake Orion.  The family will receive friends from 11:00 a.m. until the time of service. Following the service there will be a luncheon at the American Legion Hall located at 130 E. Drahner Rd., Oxford, MI 48371

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