Thomas Melvin Ripley
Thomas Melvin Ripley, 73, of Osage City passed away on January 29, 2024 at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City with his family at his side.
Tom, known as “Shorty” by family and friends, was born February 3, 1950 in Battle Creek, Michigan, the son of Robert and Genita (Brooker) Ripley.
Tom grew up in Vermontville, Michigan and as a young man worked with his dad at General Motors Fisher Body Plant in Lansing, Michigan until in August of 1969 when he joined the United State Air Force. Tom went to Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base and attended Technical Training School at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas before being stationed in Taiwan. He was later stationed at Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka and at Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas. Tom served his country in the Air Force until July of 1977, then settled in Overbrook, Kansas. More recently, Tom made Osage City his home. Tom married Cathy Downs in September of 1971. They were later divorced.
Tom spent most of his life as a truck driver, working for several different trucking companies and hauling a variety of products. Recently, Tom had been employed at the Osage City Golf Course, a job he thoroughly enjoyed.
Tom was an avid hunter and fisherman, and later in his life took up the sport of golf.
In 2002, Tom received a diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He opted for chemotherapy and an experimental drug treatment, with the intention of benefiting others facing the same disease. Unfortunately, his choice contributed to acute heart failure and the necessity of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs).
Tom’s recent battle with his health saw him hospitalized for the past five months but he always kept his sense of humor and was a staff favorite at St. Luke’s.
Tom will be remembered for his enjoyable sense of humor and as he put it, “I never knew a stranger, they were just a friend I hadn’t met yet.”
Tom was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Carol.
Tom is survived by his daughters, Stacy (Joel) Kahnt of Ellinwood, KS and Nancy (Nick) Sholander of Rose Hill, KS; a son, Kevin (Davon Jackson) Ripley of Aubrey, TX; his grandchildren, Alexis Kahnt of Houston, TX, Madison Kahnt of Lawrence, KS, Tyeler Sholander of Topeka, KS, Blake Sholander of Rose Hill, KS and Payton Sholander of Rose Hill, KS along with many other relatives and a host of friends.
Cremation has taken place and a celebration of Tom’s life will be held at a later date.
Contributions may be made to the Tom Ripley Memorial and sent to the VanArsdale Funeral Home, 107 North Sixth, Osage City, KS 66523 or to the Lyndon State Bank P.O. Box 518, Lyndon, KS 66451. Memorial contributions can also be made to the St. Luke Foundation, which aids families of heart patients at St. Luke’s Hospital. Donate directly at https://saintlukesgiving.givevirtuous.org/Donate.