Richard M. Riplinger, 73, of Elk Grove Village, a retired butcher, died Saturday, Jan. 27, in Vitas Hospice at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village. Mr. Riplinger served two years in the Army during World War II. After the war, Mr. Riplinger began working as a butcher in the Chicago area. He moved to Rolling Meadows in 1956 and worked as a butcher for more than 20 years at several Jewel stores in the northwest suburbs, including Rolling Meadows. He left the company in the mid-1970s and worked for several meat stores in the suburbs. He was a butcher at George’s Meat Market in Park Ridge and at Orchard Meats in Mt. Prospect, where he retired in the 1980s. “He never shied away from an argument,” said his son Joseph. His son added that his father battled cancer for the past decade. Other survivors include two more sons, Steven and Michael; a daughter, Sharon Laing; a brother, Edward; a sister, Josephine Casten; and nine grandchildren. A service was held Wednesday in Elk Grove Village.
