Longtime Indiana RV dealer Tom Raper dies

Longtime Richmond businessman and philanthropist Tom Raper died Tuesday night in a Florida hospital.

Raper died around 11:15 p.m. in Fort Lauderdale, a friend of Raper's told The Palladium-Item.

Raper's nationally televised business, Tom Raper RVs, started in April 1964 when Raper invested $2,000 to open a used car dealership on the corner of North 14th and E streets.

Over the years, Raper dropped the cars and added tent campers, travel trailers, motor homes and manufactured homes to his inventory, eventually creating what he called the largest RV dealership in America.

Raper invited David Bane, a Richmond native, to leave a banking job in Cincinnati to join the RV dealership as general manager. When Raper decided to retire, he sold the dealership to Bane, with the sale becoming final in June 2002. The sale of the dealership to Camping World was finalized in recent weeks.

In January, Raper said the sale to Bane was "meant to be" and he wished Camping World well with the purchase of the dealership.

Camping World and Good Sam CEO Marcus Lemonis issued a statement Wednesday on Raper's passing.

"Camping World and Good Sam would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends and customers of Tom Raper RV on his passing last night," Lemonis said in the statement. "We have recently partnered with the RV dealerships that he proudly founded and consider ourselves a part of the extended community that now mourn his loss. Mr. Raper has left a significant mark on the RV community and industry and we appreciate and honor his legacy."

Tom Raper RVs was not just a Richmond staple, but a Midwestern landmark known to many from the jingle in commercials that urged customers to "save today the Tom Raper way" at its Richmond location on Williamsburg Pike at Exit 149A.

In February 2014, Williamsburg Pike, from Progress Drive/Sheridan Street to Interstate 70 in Richmond, received an official name change to be known as Williamsburg Pike/Tom Raper Way. The moniker is a tribute to Raper and his business savvy, as well as the dealership that has become synonymous with the city.

The 60-acre Tom Raper RVs site in Richmond includes a 24,000-square-foot showroom, 35,360-square-foot parts and service building, and a 21,040-square-foot body shop.

Raper's business success also helped him give back to the Richmond area, contributing to higher education, community and religious organizations.

A few examples of his generosity:

• Raper bequeathed $2.17 million to Indiana University East, and in 2009, the campus renamed Middlefork Hall as Tom Raper Hall in his honor.

• He also donated more than $1 million to Wayne County to build a 5,000-seat exhibition building, called Tom Raper Center, and for other improvements at the Wayne County Fairgrounds.

• In recent years, he established a $50,000 endowed scholarship fund at Ivy Tech Community College Richmond for scholarships.

• Raper was also one of the top donors for the renovation of Civic Hall, giving $250,000 to help turn the gymnasium into a state-of-the-art performing arts center.