Obituary of Charles Ruhe

Charles Augustus Ruhe of River Road, Essex, passed away in his sleep on Monday, March 8, following a long illness. He was 85 years old. Mr. Ruhe was born in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1930. His parents were Charles Edward Ruhe, an architect, and Alice Hamilton Dodge. As an infant, he lived in Pasadena, California, with his parents and two half-brothers, David and Erwin, from his mother's previous marriage. Following his father's untimely death in 1934, his mother returned to Youngstown with her children, and Charles lived there for several years in the care of relatives, his beloved Uncle Frank and Aunt Ethel Brunswick. Alice subsequently remarried in 1937 and the family settled in the Stony Creek area of Branford, Connecticut in the summer of 1944. Her new husband, Frederick P. "Bo" Dodge, legally adopted Charles in 1950. Mr. Ruhe attended The Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut, for four years, graduating in 1948. His yearbooks show that he excelled in mathematics, and was active in several of the school's singing groups. Following Choate, he briefly attended Cornell University, intending to study architecture. After deciding not to pursue a career in that field, he left Cornell and returned to Connecticut, where he received an A.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of New Haven, followed by a B.S. in Business Administration from Quinnipiac College. He graduated from Quinnipiac and passed the C.P.A. exam on his first attempt in 1955, and then began his career as a financial professional with the New Haven accounting firm Seward & Monde. While studying in the New Haven area, he joined the New Haven Chorale singing group, where he met his future wife, Hope Dunham Anness. They married in 1953, and their first child, Charles Frederick, was born in 1954. He was followed by Hope Dunham in '57, Robert Samuel Brunswick in '59, and Patience Elizabeth in '65. The family lived in Bethany, Connecticut, until 1964, when Mr. Ruhe accepted a position as Assistant Comptroller at the Pratt-Read Corporation, in Essex, Connecticut. The family relocated to Essex in 1965, purchasing the house on River Road where Mr. Ruhe and his wife would reside for the rest of their lives. It was located just a short walk from Pettipaug Yacht Club, where he kept the small sailboat that he enjoyed racing on weekends. He also competed enthusiastically for many years in the Spring and Fall Frostbiting races in Essex Harbor, usually with one or other of his children crewing. Mr. Ruhe rose quickly through the ranks at Pratt-Read, and was promoted to Treasurer in 1968. He added the title Secretary in 1973, and was named to the corporate Board of Directors shortly thereafter. He maintained memberships in several professional organizations, including the American Institute of CPAs, the Connecticut Society of CPAs, and the Financial Executives Institute, serving for a time as a director of the Hartford chapter of the FEI. In 1983, a corporate restructuring ended his tenure at Pratt-Read. He found a new position with the Connecticut Institute for the Blind/Oak Hill in Hartford, serving as Vice President of Finance and Treasurer, where he remained until his retirement in 2003. Mr. Ruhe spent most of his retirement years as the primary caregiver for his wife, who developed chronic illnesses as she aged and passed away last June. His own health declined sharply in the last two years, and he had extended stays at Middlesex Memorial Hospital and Apple Rehab of Colchester. He was able to return to his home prior to Hope's passing, and was in hospice care there at the time of his death. Mr. Ruhe is survived by all four of his children and their spouses: Charles F. Ruhe (Renee) of Boulder Creek, California; Dr. Hope Dunham Ruhe (Laurence Wong) of New Orleans, Louisiana; Robert S. B. Ruhe (Kelly) of East Haddam, Connecticut; and Patience E. Schermer (Dave) of Apple Creek, Ohio; and five grandchildren. No memorial service is planned. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in his memory to the charity of your choice. To share a memory of Mr. Ruhe or send a condolence to his family please visit www.rwwfh.com Arrangements by the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home in Centerbrook.