Margaret Rupp

Margaret Behen Rupp was born in Sioux City, Iowa, on July 11, 1918, the eldest child of Leo and Mary Brown Behen. She died at the age of ninety-three on October 21, 2011, at the Manilla Care Center in Manilla, Iowa.
Margaret attended country schools in Denison and graduated from Denison High School in 1936. After graduation, she attended Iowa State Teacher's College and taught country schools in both Denison Township and Afton Township where she met the love of her life, Walter Rupp.
In 1942, while Walter was serving in the Army Air Corps in World War II, Margaret moved to Nebraska to take part in the war effort on the home front, working in a munitions plant in Beatrice. On February 5, 1945, she married Walter while he was home on leave.
After the war, Margaret and Walter moved back to Denison where they both worked at the Earl May Garden Center for the next four decades. Walter worked as the assistant manager and later became manager. Margaret worked in a variety of positions, including salesperson, bookkeeper, and chief advisor to the manager.
During that period, Margaret and Walter also raised three proud and grateful children: Pat, Katie, and Lynne.
Margaret was an active member of the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Community, participating in the Ladies Guild and Rosary Crusade, as well as serving as a Eucharistic Minister. After her retirement, she and Walter were enthusiastic participants in Meals on Wheels program, delivering meals to the elderly for 14 years. They were also dedicated volunteers in the American Cancer Society??s Road to Recovery program.
Margaret, who was very proud of her Irish heritage, was a gentle and humble spirit who loved her family and Creator above all. She lived a life of dignity and leaves behind a legacy of faith and love.
Margaret was preceded in death by Walter, her husband of 58 years; her parents; and four brothers: Jack, Jim, Thomas and Pat. She is survived by her three children: Pat and his wife, Catharine; Katie and her husband, David; and Lynne and her husband, Randy; two grandchildren, Julie and Christopher; three great-grandchildren: Charlie, Abby and Jack; four sisters: Mary Kay; Sally; Madelyn; and Janet; other relatives and friends.