Rupert family, friends gather on 1-year anniversary of boy’s death
WINFIELD TWP — On a day when rain came down from the sky like tears, dozens gathered at Cabot Church to mark the one-year anniversary of the day when Zane Rupert, 12, was killed in a car crash.
On Sunday night, Oct. 13, friends and family gathered outside the church for “A Day to Remember Zane,” sharing memories of the boy who touched so many lives in such a short time.
Zane’s father, Josh, says that the family has taken the loss one day at a time.
“The family’s doing really good for what happened,” Josh said. “It’s been a struggle for all of us. But I have a really good support system behind me on everything that’s been going on.”
The first part of the evening was marked by cornhole, a food truck and music. On an inflatable screen, a projector displayed a live feed of the Steelers’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders — another tribute to Zane, an avid football fan, and youth football player for the Saxonburg Spartans.
The only thing that disrupted the event was a sudden storm, which forced the planned program of speeches from friends and family to be held inside the church, rather than on the lawn as planned.
When Josh Rupert opened the service with his speech, many struggled to hold back their tears.
“Each morning when I wake up, for a split second, I feel like you’re with me,” Josh Rupert said. “After that split second, reality sets in.”
He later continued, “My favorite thing to do on Sunday morning was to turn the radio on and then go to his room and sing to him. He would wake up with a big smile on his face, and he always told me, ‘Dad, you’re a terrible singer.’
“But he wouldn’t want to be woken up any other way.”
Zane was killed Oct. 13, 2023, when the Jeep Wrangler he was riding in collided with a tractor-trailer at the intersection of Winfield and Brose roads in Winfield Township. The driver of the Jeep, 65-year-old David Faulx — Zane’s grandfather — also was killed.
Months after the accident, a police report obtained by the Butler Eagle through the boy’s father indicated Faulx had a blood-alcohol level of .246 — more than three times the legal limit in Pennsylvania.
Natalie Parkinson, a volunteer victim advocate for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, spoke on how to prevent young lives from being taken in the way Zane’s was. She spoke from experience, as her own daughter was killed in a drunken driving crash.
“Each case is incredibly heartbreaking, devastating and overwhelming, even to me, especially because each of these crashes are 100% unnecessary and 100% preventable,” Parkinson said. “I’m honored to be a part of Zane’s vigil this evening, in remembrance of a very remarkable young man.”
The services ended with an indoor candlelight vigil as a montage played of images of Zane’s life, set to the songs “If Heaven Had a Landline” by Brian Congdon and “Jealous of the Angels” by Donna Taggart.
Afterward, friends and family filed out of the church to blow bubbles to the sky.
“Instead of a balloon release, it’s to blow kisses to Zane in heaven,” Josh Rupert said.
