(April 15, 2015) – Longtime Indiana businessman Tom Raper has died.
Tom Raper (photo courtesy Palladium-Item)
Raper died at a Florida hospital Tuesday night, the company confirmed.
He built an empire out of his recreational vehicle business and was known for nationally televised commercials urging customers to “save today the Tom Raper way.”
According to the Palladium-Item, the business started in 1964 with a used car dealership. Eventually, Raper added more inventory like ten campers, travel trailers, motor homes and manufactured homes. He sold the business, advertised as the Midwest’s largest dealer, in 2002 after he decided to retire. Early in 2015, Camping World bought the dealership.
Raper was well known throughout the Richmond area as a philanthropist, giving money to Indiana University East, Ivy Tech Community College and Civic Hall.