Family mourns man, 45, killed in Scituate blast

David Kupris worked at Pilgrim power station.

As the middle son in a close-knit family of three boys and three girls, David Kupris had more than a little in common with Peter Brady of "The Brady Bunch," Kupris's younger sister recalled yesterday. Like the second son on the 1970s TV show, Kupris was outgoing, fun-loving, and decent.

Kupris, who was 45, died Wednesday in a Scituate home explosion. He was a patient father, a jokester, an athlete, and a sports fan. A longtime Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station employee, Kupris had a knack for electrical work and home repairs and loved to help people fix things, his siblings said.

"He was very funny, he was very friendly, and he was very handy," said Paul Kupris, 49, of Weymouth.

Together, the two ran in charity road races, played golf, and took trips to the Caribbean. David, younger by four years, encouraged Paul to find work at Pilgrim and return to school to advance.

Authorities yesterday released no new information about the blast that killed Kupris, destroyed his girlfriend's home on Turner Road in Scituate, and badly damaged others nearby.

Bay State Gas Co. was responding to a neighbor's call about gas odor at the time of the blast. A spokesman, Don DiNunno, said the company completed its own inspection Thursday and reported to the fire marshal that there were no flaws in the gas system.

"The investigation does continue at this time, pending an autopsy result and further work by the investigative team," State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan said.

The Scituate Inspection Department had no plans yesterday to condemn additional homes beyond the three ruled uninhabitable Thursday, on Kenneth Road, Turner Road, and Marion Road Extension, according to the department.

As Kupris's family mourned his death, a spokeswoman for the district attorney said his identity still could not be officially confirmed, with autopsy results pending.

David Kupris grew up in Brighton, the fourth of six children born in a decade to Helen, a homemaker, and Walter, a World War II veteran and Air Force aerial photographer, said Linda Kupris Holahan of Billerica, their youngest child.

Kupris studied electrical systems at Wentworth Institute of Technology and worked in high-voltage maintenance at Pilgrim Station, going on disability earlier this year but planning to return after the holidays, Paul Kupris said.

In the early 1990s, Kupris and his brothers bought a three-decker in Dorchester's Savin Hill neighborhood, living on one floor and renting the others. Later, he owned and maintained other rental properties, his brother said.

Kupris doted on his children - a daughter, Rachel, now in college, and twin sons, Devin and Chandler, who are in middle school - and relished taking them on ski trips or spending time with them at home, Paul Kupris said. He lived with them and his wife, Janet, in Weymouth before the marriage ended in divorce about a year ago. Most recently he lived in Marshfield and was dating Kim Chubbuck, owner of the Scituate home, Paul Kupris said.

In an interview yesterday, Kupris Holahan said she was trying to take solace in her brother's seemingly effortless good nature. "I really feel that David can feel good that he accomplished living a true life, of being a good human being," she said.