Larry "Rupe" Wager

Larry "Rupe" Wager, 86 of Fort Collins, CO, passed away Nov. 25, 2023, at Medical Center of the Rockies surrounded by his family. He was born February 1, 1937, in Wayland, NY to Rupert Wager and Irene Mehlenbacher Wager.

He enjoyed growing up on the family farms and using teams of horses to do the farming. He loved to dance and was considered the class clown.

He graduated from Wayland High School in 1954 and went into the Air Force for 3.5 years when he was honorably discharged. He then went back to NY and worked at Gunlock and eventually ended up at Kodak in Rochester. He married the love of his life Kathryn "Kate" Martin Malter August 12, 1961. He and Kathy built a home in Perkinsville where they started to raise Kim and Jill. In 1971 he packed up his family and moved to Colorado with Kodak and built a home in Fort Collins.

He left Kodak and worked at the Hauf Brau restaurant as a bartender and enjoyed chatting it up with all the patrons. He then worked at CSU in the maintenance division and took care of the Engineering Buildings. He enjoyed making friends of all walks of life and countries while working there.

Larry enjoyed taking his motorhome to the CSU football games and softball adventures with his daughters and grandkids. He always enjoyed dancing, rodeos, concerts, and sports, girls fast pitched softball and football were his favorite to watch. People have fond memories of dancing and laughing with him. He liked practical jokes whether he played them on someone, or they were played on him.

He always claimed he stayed young because he hung out with his kids and grandkids and his love of garlic on anything. He enjoyed canning veggies and making different kinds of schnapps especially root beer schnapps and Coors Light.

As he got older he enjoyed going to the Legion or the VFW and bringing up politics and bantering with the patrons and his friends. He enjoyed living on Amy's farm and being with the animals. He also loved to spend time with his family and buy meals for all and big candy bars for the little kids. He was a generous, ornery, loving man with a huge heart.

He is proceeded in death by his dad, Rupert Wager and his mom, Irene Wager, wife Kathryn Martin Malter Wager and granddaughter Christine Kelley. He leaves behind his brother Edward Wager (Nancy), sister Vada Holmes (Wayne), Daughters, Kim Kelley (Tim), Jill Wilkes (Mike), Amy Tjardes (Bill),brother in law Patrick Martin, 9 grandchildren, 6 great grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.