W. Rudd Douglass Sr.

PITTSTON -- W. Rudd Douglass Sr. passed away on March 2, 2009, at his home on Palmer Road in Pittston after a long illness.

He was born in Providence, R.I., on April 30, 1945, to Walter N. and Alta Jane Douglass. He graduated from Rutgers University in 1977 with a doctorate in zoology. Following graduation, he and his family moved to Newtown, Conn. From there, he commuted to New York City and taught at Fordham University for three years.

Rudd was always a person with exceptional energy. Using experience gained working construction jobs as he attended college, he turned his 960-square-foot Connecticut home into a beautiful 2,400-square-foot home with red cedar siding. He loved the Jersey shore and spent summers there surfing throughout his high school and college years. He enjoyed biking as well as running, frequently participating in 10-kilometer road races. He was an avid photographer, developing his own very creative photos.

He moved with his family to Pittston in 1982 to pursue farming. He taught nursing courses at Kennebec Vocational Technical Institute in Waterville and Central Maine Community College in Lewiston until 1989, when he decided to farm full time. He started a perennial greenhouse which grew to carry several hundred types of plants, including many hard to find anywhere else. In 1995, he planted extensive display gardens around the farm to showcase his many varieties, which people could wander through while at the greenhouse. He also grew organic produce and Maine wild blueberries. He sold his perennials, produce and blueberries at the Brunswick Farmers' Market, where he became known as "Rudd the Spudman" for his many varieties of potatoes. He grew more than 25 varieties, including many unusual types such as blue flesh, red flesh and fingerlings. He also brought back many old-fashioned local varieties, such as Green Mountain, Kennebec and Katahdin. He was one of the last fresh-blueberry growers in this area. The blueberries were raked and cleaned on a 1930s winnower with the help of local teenagers. His blueberries were in high demand for their freshness and cleanliness. He also sold them to farm stands around the area.

Rudd is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; son Walter Rudd Douglass Jr. and his wife, Heather, of North Berwick; daughter Samantha Lynne MacMaster and her husband, Steve, of Pittston; two grandsons, Isaac and Matthew Douglass, of North Berwick; his mother, Alta Jane Douglass, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and his siblings, Jean Weiss and her husband, Bill Weiss, of Aiken, N.C., Richard Douglass, of Clementon, N.J., and Ruth Parillo, of Fort Lauderdale. Rudd was a wonderful husband, father, son, brother, uncle and friend. He will be dearly missed.

Rudd had chosen to be cremated. A celebration of his life will take place at 10 a.m. Monday, March 9, at Staples Funeral Home, 53 Brunswick Ave. in Gardiner, followed immediately by a memorial service.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis at www.tinyurl.com/rudd-douglass.