Hans Anton Rupf

Biography

Hans Anton Rupf was born at 21:20 hours on February 2, 1951, in Walenstadt, Switzerland to Marie Elisabeth Rupf-Müller (January 24, 1921 - December 25, 2009) and Johann Joseph Rupf (December 31, 1926 - October 15, 2001). He was named after his father, who also commonly used the same diminutive name, and his godfather Anton. His brother Paul Robert Rupf was born the year after, on July 02, 1952. The two brothers enjoyed causing a lot of mischief together. On May 20, 1958 they were joined by their sister Heidi Agnes Rupf. They grew up in Walenstadtberg, a picturesque village nestled high above the town of Walenstadt in the Churfirsten mountain range and overlooking the Walen Lake. His father worked in a local rock quarry, often bringing a sausage for lunch to work, while the family only ate meat on weekends.

In December 1962 the family moved to Weiningen to lead a chicken farm, which served to breed chickens for the Futtermittelmühle (Kliba), as well as producing eggs. This change brought new challenges and responsibilities, as the children were expected to help with tasks such as egg collection. Everything was new to them and crossing through a large flock of chickens for children could be intimidating.

As Hans grew older, he developed a passion for outdoor activities, particularly rock climbing and high-alpine hiking, which he pursued through membership in the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC). This love for the mountains often involved hitchhiking to reach the best climbing spots. In 1970 he met Rosmarie Spycher in a climbing group.

Hans began his professional journey in 1967 with an apprenticeship in electrical mechanics at Alois Joos in Frauenfeld, where he learned constructing electric motors, and spent the first year at the apprentice workshop of Tuchschmid, also in Frauenfeld. In February 1971 he concluded his apprentiship as an electromechanic spending his fourth and final year of training at the Jenny-Pressen in Frauenfeld. Despite originally aspiring to be a fine mechanic, he found satisfaction in the blend of electrical and mechanical work that this profession offered.

Afterwards he served in the Swiss Military Fliegerabwehr (Flab) starting in 1971 with basic military training (Rekrutenschule) and participating at the yearly refresher courses (Wiederholungskurse) . Hans enjoyed the army, and was proud of his miltary service.

In December 1971, he joined Swissair as an Aircraft Engineer and Mechanic in Avionics, embarking on a nearly 38-year career which would take him around the world. His initial training in Kloten at Swissair headquarters, laid the foundation for his role as a Station Engineer. He moved in with his future wife Rosmarie Spycher in Winterthur. He enjoyed working on an old Citroën limousine with his friend Benno and later also tuned his own Ford Cortina.

On June 02, 1978 Hans and Rosmarie got married, shortly before moving to Hans' first assignement as a Station Engineer in London. They first rented a large semi-detached house with two bathrooms in Twickenham, as Paul and Ruth were planning to join them for doing some English studies. Afterwards they moved to Stanwell into the house of Pierre and Sandra, a colleague of Hans, who had been transferred to Tehran. Starting in 1981 they shared their home with the Blue Persian kitty called Saba and later on she was joined by her sister Starlight, who was a Tortoiseshell Persian. Hans and Rosmarie stayed in touch with friends and families in Switzerland and visited them as frequently as possible. Swissair enabled their employees to fly as "stand-by" passenger at reduced fair. And as especially Hans enjoyed traveling abroad, they could indulge.

In 1982 Hans got reassigned to Milan, Italy. The move was challenging, with their furniture and belongings being lost for weeks in customs, which forced them to rent a furnitured appartment in San Bovio and live there, out of travel bags, for several months. The administrative oversight in customs could finally get resolved with the help of a pensioned Swissair employee, Mr. Ferrari, who still engaged himself for special missions or problems. The missing crates were finally located in a customs warehouse and were cleared and moved into a warehouse. The following year their son Simon Alexander Rupf was born on March 12, 1983 in a Milan children hospital with birth place in which during that night of all times the employees unfortunately were on strike. Later on the family could settle into a larger appartment in San Felice and could finally and gladly live with their own furniture. On Sundays Rosmarie often visited the services of the German church and during this time Hans liked to take his son to the zoo of Milan, where the tall giraffes and large elephants impressed, but also intimidated the child. The elephants could be fed with nuts which they picked up from the palm of your hands using their trunks. The family also went on bike trips and for walks at the Idroscalo lake, which had originally been excavated by prisoners of war to be used as a seaplane airport during World War II.

The family's life took a new turn when Hans was reassigned to Frankfurt in 1987. This period was marked by a health crisis of Rosmarie, who was treated in Ticino, leading to their separation and eventual divorce in April 1989. Despite this, Hans maintained his strong ties to Switzerland, regularly visiting family and friends. Rosmarie encouraged him to stay close to Simon, fostering a strong relationship.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Hans developed a new hobby: Swiss trains and model railroads (Märklin H0), which he shared with Simon during visits to Switzerland. They also made the Casa Mary in Carona a regular holiday destination.

A new chapter began in 1992 when Hans was offered a position in the Los Angeles station. There, he engaged in the restoration of a Northrop N-9MB "Flying Wing", a World War II-era prototype, with a group of volunteers. It was originally built in 1942 as a testbed for the flight control system. There were three such prototypes built, but only the N-9MB had survived at the "Planes of Fame" museum in Chino, CA. The restauration was very involved and by the end very few original parts remained, but the plane was flight worthy again. This project deepened his interest in aircraft of that era, leading to visits to numerous airplane museums and the creation of model aircraft with Simon.

In 1997, Hans married Katherine Kittle and moved to Atlanta, where they bought their home in January 2000. He became a U.S. resident in May 18, 2001 and a citizen in July 27, 2005, continuing his work with Swissair in New York until his retirement in February 28, 2009. Through Katherine, whose father was a jeweler and watchmaker, Hans discovered antique pocket watches and developed a new hobby in repairing and collecting U.S. railroad pocket watches and those made by J.P. Stevens, an Atlanta resident.

Throughout his life, Hans maintained a deep connection to Switzerland, visiting frequently to spend time with family and friends. A special highlight was his annual week skiing in Samnaun, one of his favorite places.

Hans passed away on May 26, 2026, in Atlanta after a brief illness and was buried on June 04, 2026, near Ripley, West Virginia, at the cemetery in Sandyville, alongside Katherine Kittle’s parents and grandparents.

Imprint

This life story was created collaboratively by Katherine Kittle and Simon Rupf, using material contributed by Rosmarie Froese and Corina Merz.