Technically, he’s not coming out of retirement, but Kingfisher’s longtime Santa is scheduled to make one more appearance as the grand marshal of the Christmas parade at 6 p.m. Dec. 3 in downtown Kingfisher.

Judd Kopp shared memories of his more than 12 years of service in a phone conversation with Judy Whipple, the former chamber of commerce manager who initially recruited him to service.

He started out without either a costume or a ride in his first parade, “which may have been in 2010, we couldn’t really remember,” Whipple said.

A couple from Enid solved the ride problem, chaufering him in their classic Jaguar.

The costume problem was initally solved by a threadbare loaner dredged up in the chamber office, but it didn’t survive even the first outing.

(Whipple said Kopp asked not to publicly share the details of that embarrassing moment “which is a shame because it was a really entertaining story.”) Kopp’s late wife Cleo got into the act as a quite convincing Mrs. Claus, and then their daughter Andrea and her husband Brent Boutwell came through with brand new costumes for both of them, which became their go-to holiday gear from then on.

In addition to the parade, the Kopps appeared at many local events – taking photos with local school children and their classes, presenting grant awards to teachers on behalf of the Kingfisher Educational Foundation, posing for photos at downtown festivals and more.

But their biggest event has always been the Christmas parade, which has grown increasingly popular since the dramatic addition of downtown fireworks to round out the night.

“Judd told me he just loves waving at all those people who come to the parade each year,” Whipple said. “But by the end of night, his arm sure does get tired.

Over the years, the Kopps rode in several different parade vehicles, including fire trucks, a horse drawn carriage and even a golf cart before Casey Jackson of Jacksons of Kingfisher came through with a reliable ride each year through 2019, which proved their final appearance.

The pandemic shut the parade down in 2020, then Cleo died just before last December’s parade, leaving a gaping, Mrs. Claus-sized hole in the hearts of local youngsters as well as among her beloved family members.

A new Santa and Mrs. Claus are now on duty, but when “Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole” was selected as this year’s parade theme, “we just couldn’t imagine anyone else more perfect for the role of grand marshal than our retired Santa,” Shauna Rupp, current chamber executive director, said.

For more details about the parade and fireworks, see the ad on page 14 of this issue.