Reynold Joseph Rey Ruppé Jr. was born to Reynold Joseph and Matilda Ann (Onofrey) Ruppé in Hellertown, Pennsylvania on October 15, 1917. During World War II, he trained in the ski troops and went on to serve with the War Crimes Branch in the European Theatre, where he was responsible for interrogating captured German officers (1943-1946). Ruppé earned his B.A. from the University of New Mexico in 1946 and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1953. He began his career in Iowa, where he taught at Iowa State University (1953-1960) and served as Iowa state archaeologist (1955-1960). Ruppé accepted a position at Arizona State University in 1960 as Head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. One of the conditions of his acceptance was that the Department be split into two separate units, and Ruppé became the Head of the Department of Anthropology when it was created in 1962. He served in this capacity until 1973, when he relocated to western Florida in order to concentrate on underwater archaeology. Ruppé retired in 1985.
Ruppé's archaeological research began with excavations in Colorado in 1946 and continued for forty years with fieldwork in New Mexico, Iowa, Arizona, and Florida. Of particular note is his work excavating villages on New Mexico's Cebolleta Mesa (1948-1952) and contribution to coastal archaeology through his work with drowned terrestrial sites. He also contributed to making the archaeological survey a standard practice in North America.
Ruppé married Carol Varley and the couple had two children, Tricia (Ruppé) Durden and Larry. Reynold Ruppé died on October 10, 1993 at the age of 76.
From the guide to the Preliminary Inventory of the Reynold J. Ruppé Papers, 1947-2001, (Arizona State University Libraries University Archives)
