Clarence H. Ruof, 92, of Clearfield, PA died at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh on Oct. 9, 2011. Bud was born on Sept. 6, 1919 in Hummelstown, PA to Martha Ellen Weise and Clarence Godfred Ruof. His father was a florist who owned The Hummelstown Greenhouses. Bud was affiliated with Zion Lutheran Church in Hummelstown and St. Paul Lutheran Church in Dearborn, Michigan.
Bud was the Valedictorian of Hummelstown High School, class of 1937. He graduated from Gettysburg College with a B.A. degree in Chemistry, Summa Cum Laude, in 1941; from Haverford College with an M.S. degree in Chemistry in 1942; and from Penn State University with a Ph. D. Degree in Organic Chemistry in 1948.
Bud was employed by the PA Department of Highways while in college, and as a graduate assistant at Haverford College and Penn State University. During his Ph.D. studies, he authored numerous articles on steroids and fuels, and he served his country by conducting classified research for the military during World War II.
He was a member of the Staff of the Coal Research Laboratory of Carnegie Institute of Technology from 1948 to 1954, and a Senior Fellow of Mellon Institute of Industrial Research from 1954 to 1960. In 1960, he joined Ford Motor Company, serving successively in the Chemistry Department, Fuel Sciences Department, and the Fuels and Lubricants Department of the Scientific Research Staff. He retired from Ford in 1986.
Bud was an active member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and the American Chemical Society (ACS). He served for thirteen years as the Deputy Editor for the International Journal of Fuel Science titled “FUEL.”
While living in Dearborn, Michigan, Bud was active in the Masonic Lodge, Architect No. 569, and he later became the Worshipful Master. He was also a member of the Scottish Rite and the Shrine.
During his retirement, Bud explored many interests and hobbies. He became a skilled wood carver of duck decoys. He was a voracious reader, and he was a scholar of the Civil War, with an emphasis on the Battle of Gettysburg. He enjoyed recounting the story of when he shook the hand of Gettysburg author, W. C. Storrick, who, as a child, had shaken the hand of Abraham Lincoln on the occasion of the Gettysburg Address. Bud loved to travel, but most of all, he loved being with his family.
Bud married his beloved wife, the late Catherine Carns Ruof from Clearfield, at the Grace Lutheran Church in State College, PA in 1945. After 57 years of loving marriage, she preceded him in death in November 2002. Also preceding him in death were his parents, his two sisters, Eleanor Ruof Saylor of Midland, MI and Phyllis Ruof Reed of Lancaster, PA, as well as many aunts, uncles, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, cousins, nieces and nephews.
Bud is survived by his two daughters, Mary Ellen Van Pelt of Plantation, FL and Susan M. Ruof of Clearfield. He is also survived by sisters-in-law, Mary Jane Carns Williams of Woodland, Julia Carns Carson and her husband, Winfield B. Carson III of Pittsburgh, PA, and Gail Carns Ralston and her husband, Fred Ralston of Clearfield, PA. Also surviving Bud are family members, including cousins, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
Funeral services will be held at Bennet tand Houser Funeral Home Inc., Clearfield, on Oct. 13 at 11:00 a.m., with Dr. C. Frederick Ralston officiating.
Interment will follow at Crown Crest Memorial Park, Hyde.
Friends will be received at the funeral home Oct. 12 from 3-5 and 7-9 p.m. and on Oct. 13 from 10-11 a.m.
The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to the Clearfield Hospital’s Greatest Need Fund or to a charity of one’s choice.
To send online tributes go to www.bennettandhouser.com or www.mem.com.