Richard C. Rutledge

Richard C. “Dick” Rutledge, Sr., 86, of Bethlehem Township, passed away peacefully at St. Lukes Hospice on Saturday, November 25, 2017.

He remained the loving and devoted husband to Betty J. (Zawadski) Rutledge. The couple celebrated their 62nd Wedding Anniversary this past June.

Born in Toledo, Ohio to the late Bernice (Stevenson) and Charlie Lee Rutledge in May of 1931, Richard was a 1950 graduate of Scott High School in Toledo. He attended the University of Toledo for one year and joined the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served through July of 1955.

Dick retired in 1997 from SKF Industries, where he was their Safety Officer and headed up their Shipping & Receiving Dept. Prior to that he had been a milkman, working his way through the ranks to Credit and Distribution Manager for Abbotts Dairies, previously Suncrest Farms. Dick also had experience working as a Sales Rep for Portion Pak Foods of Allentown.

He was a member of Sacred Heart Parish, Miller Heights, where he was baptized and married in 1955, and also where he raised his family and later in life participated as a member of the “Prime Time” Group.

Richard was a low-key, reserved man with a quick wit and a fun-loving sense of humor, whom you could always count on. He was a good neighbor, loyal friend, and wonderful husband and was annually unanimously voted “The Worlds Best Dad and Granddad”; he always had time for his family. He was humble, but if you opened the door, he would tell you all about his wife, his children and their spouses and especially his grandsons, the treasures of his life.

Dick also enjoyed, besides whistling and wiggling his ears, bowling, archery, target shooting, hunting, boxing, woodcarving, model airplane building, wood working, furniture making and general tinkering/problem solving and playing a major role in the renovation of an 1890 brick row home in Washington, DC. Dick was an avid football fan enjoying watching his teams: the Eagles, Nittany Lions and Fighting Irish. He was also fond of most detective shows and “old” movies, especially Cowboys/Westerns. He also enjoyed some travel with his wife and family on trips to Toledo, Niagara Falls, the Wildwoods/Jersey Shore, Las Vegas and most memorably to Hawaii to celebrate the couples 25th and 31st Anniversaries.

He was pre-deceased in death by his siblings Bonnie, Charles W., Josie and Janice.

Survivors: In addition to his “angel” Betty, he will be lovingly remembered by his children; daughter: Diana Lee (Rutledge) and her husband Timothy Gaylor of Bethlehem Township; son: Richard C. Rutledge, Jr. and his wife Karin (Walsh) of Washington, DC; grandsons: Dustin Lee Rutledge and Nathaniel Rutledge; brother: Jules Rutledge and his wife Kathy and numerous nieces and nephews along with his favorite “little ball of fluff and love,” Penny.

Services: A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, November 30, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. A viewing will be held prior to the mass between 9:00 & 10:45 a.m. Both services will be at Sacred Heart Church, 1817 1st Street, Bethlehem, PA 18020. Burial will be at Holy Savior Cemetery: 2575 Linden Street, Bethlehem, PA 18017.

Contributions: In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be offered to Sacred Heart Church, Miller Heights.

Cemetery
Holy Saviour Cemetery
2575 Linden St.
Bethlehem PA 18017
US

Visitation
Thursday, November 30, 2017
9:00 AM - 10:45 AM
Sacred Heart Catholic Church
1817 First St.
Bethlehem PA 18020
US

Mass of Christian Burial
Thursday, November 30, 2017
11:00 AM
Sacred Heart Catholic Church
1817 First St.
Bethlehem PA 18020
US

Funeral HomeConnell Funeral Home, Inc.
245 East Broad St.
Bethlehem PA - 18018
US
610-868-8531