JASPER, I.N. – About six months ago, when Bob Ruckriegel could still get around with a cane, his friend and business partner of decades, Dave Buehler, decided to give him a call.
He told him that he was coming to pick him up, that they were going to drive around town, and that he had a six pack of beer waiting for them. Dave knew Bob’s health was beginning to decline and he might not have much time left with him. But he mostly just reached out because he wanted to spend an afternoon with his friend.
“I was just thinking about him, so I gave him a call,” he said. “Thank God I did.”
They talked about life and how much theirs had changed throughout the 80-plus years of their lives.
“The older you get, the more you talk about old times,” Dave said, “because there’s a lot of them.”
Bob Ruckriegel, 85, died on June 11. He was born and raised in Jasper and touched the lives of hundreds of Dubois County residents, his employees or otherwise, throughout his life.
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