Menu
Search by Name
Search by Name
JOHN RUEDY Obituary
RUEDY JOHN RUEDY "Jack" On Monday August 1, 2016, John "Jack" Ruedy of Bethesda, MD passed away peacefully with his loving wife and daughter by his side. Jack was born on April 28, 1927 in Alameda, CA to Albert Christian Ruedy and Virtue Reese Ruedy. He served in the US Army as a veteran of World War II and attended Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley on the GI Bill. Jack married Nancy Carson on April 18, 1953. He earned his doctoral degree from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1965 and later that year accepted a professorship at Georgetown University where he became known for his dynamic teaching style and long class waiting lists. Jack was a pioneer in the creation of the Contemporary Arab Studies program at Georgetown, inspiring countless students with his love of history and current events. He was an avid runner, competing in local races and began each day with a run around his beloved neighborhood of Hillmead. As an active member of the Bethesda United Church of Christ, Jack guided hundreds of children in their Christian faith through his inception and leadership of "Kiddy Church." Throughout their 63 years together, Jack and Nancy shared a sense of adventure from their scenic camping trips across the US to their travels through Europe. This adventurous spirit gave them the freedom to see more of the world from the time of their honeymoon through raising their four children and beyond. In addition to his wife, Jack is survived by his adoring daughters, Susy Giddy (Martin), Rebecca Ruedy (Michael ) and Jennifer Ruedy Heaton (Matt). Jack was also proud "Papa" to Kristen and Tessa Lewis, Tommy, Holly and Libby Heaton, great-grandfather to Max and Uncle Jack to many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his son, Christian Ruedy, in 1972. A memorial service will be held in his honor at Bethesda United Church of Christ, 10010 Fernwood Rd, Bethesda, MD 20817 on Tuesday, August 9 at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Jack''s name to Bethesda United Church of Christ, Christian Education.A memorial service will be held in his honor at Bethesda United Church of Christ, 10010 Fernwood Rd, Bethesda, MD 20817 on Tuesday, August 9 at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Jack''s name to Bethesda United Church of Christ, Christian Education.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for JOHN RUEDY
Sponsored by Dr Haifaa Khalafallah, Carol Madison Graham and other former students.
Will McLendon
July 22, 2022
I forgot to mention that Jack and I both spoke fluent French and almost never in English.
Will L. McLendon
July 22, 2022
Jack& I were room mates in Paris in 1948 and traveled together to Geneva & Milano & Rome. We lost contact when he returned to Berkeley.
Nicolas Agostini
February 19, 2020
May Prof. Ruedy Rest In Peace. I learned a lot from him, attending his "History of the Israeli-Arab Conflict" course (2004). He was a fascinating person and an amazing teacher. He will be greatly missed. My deepest condolences to his family.
Nicolas Agostini
Professor Ruedy
May 27, 2018
John and Nancy off to a ball
May 27, 2018
John Ruedy
May 27, 2018
Nancy and John Ruedy
May 27, 2018
Mohammad Asi
May 1, 2017
I am deeply saddened for the loss of Prof. Ruedy. He was a scholar, historian, decent human being, a gentle soul, with old world kind of manners, always accessible and welling to help. I attended his classes in Islamic Civilization and a tutorial on the Maghreb. Some of the ideas and methodologies I learned from him are engraved in my mind. On a number of occasions he had me recite verses from the Quran in Arabic to the class.
Once upon a time in 1981, when I completed the reading of a 1200 page book of the late Hana Batatu's encyclopedic work on Social Classes in Iraq, and ran into Prof. Ruedy at that underground CAVE at GU when he was having a drink with some friends, and told him I just finished reading Batatu's book: when he suddenly stood up and shock my hand and said congratulations....you are the first student I know of who has read it.
My first encounter with Prof. Ruedy was when he chaired the MAAS/CCAS program in 1980 where he admitted me as a special student on the promise that I will be equal to the challenge at GU; he gave me a gentle yet stern warning: "You will have to read your eyes out in the MAAS program!!" and I did. As I completed my first semester, I received a letter from him dated January 5, 1981, which I will always cherish and which reflects his remarkable modesty and humility and in which he wrote:
"Dear Mr. Asi:
You were right and we were wrong about your ability to undertake the MAAS curriculum successfully. Your results this semester were quite commendable ...congratulations on a fine performance. Happy New Year. Sincerely, John Ruedy, Chairman, Program of Arab Studies."
My deepest condolences to his wife Nancy, children and grand children and beloved ones and colleagues at GU.
Good Bless his soul.
Mohammad Asi / CCAS// MAAS, 1982.
Amman, Jordan.
This is from the CCAS website long ago; to me, it captures Dr Ruedy at his best, teaching, with a smile (at one of the Center's HS teachers workshops)
Smokey Ardisson
April 28, 2017
Smokey Ardisson
April 28, 2017
Dr Ruedy was my first human contact with Georgetown. I still remember calling him from my room in the Georgetown Holiday Inn when I was in town for the National Model Arab League in April after being accepted to the Master of Arts in Arab Studies-PhD in History joint program. Although our schedules didn't align for an in-person meeting, he nevertheless started putting me at ease over graduate school. When I arrived in the fall, he was a familiar face, or, rather, voice in the midst of everything new, and I soon found myself enrolled in one of his classes. Early that fall semester, we connected over both my long-ago Classics background and a love of soccer. Major League Soccer was at that time a young, small league, with no team near my hometown, so while I enjoyed watching, I had no team affiliation. Dr Ruedy, however, was a committed DC United fan, and United were making another run at the championship that fall, so class always began with a quick recap. At one point Dr Ruedy suggested our class, along with a freshman dorm floor he was mentoring, might attend a playoff match, and I was tasked with investigating the feasibility. Sadly, ticket prices, availability, and scheduling all conspired against us, but it is because of Dr Ruedy that my team became, and remains, the Black-and-Red.
I don't know if Dr Ruedy thought I might become a North Africanist (I had done a little bit of work on Algeria in college), but unlike many of my previous professors and teachers, he never tried to sway or strong-arm me into pursuing his field while ignoring my interests, which meant a great deal to me. As my field of study drifted further back in time and south of the Sahara, Dr Ruedy was always supportive and encouraging. He made sure I had the benefit of his North African expertise in topics where the two regions were connected. The closest thing to a disagreement I can remember is one semester when he was my advisor, Dr Ruedy lobbied for me to take his good friend Dr Michael Hudon's seminal Arab Politics class, while I opted to take an Arabic literature class to help round out my collateral field instead (in retrospect, I wish I had let him persude me).
Dr Ruedy made sure that we as graduate students were well-rounded people; our graduate-only sessions in under/over classes, as well as many of our major field seminar classes, always included wine and cheese; I remain grateful to him for expanding my cheese palate. Sometimes, too, class would take place over a meal at The Tombs, knowledge exchanged with food and fellowship. Although Dr Ruedy was a long-established professor and doyen of the American scholars of North Africa, he lived in our world, from his daily morning runs (even if they sometimes were on the banks of the Tigris or the shores of the Mediterranean rather than just around his neighborhood) to the way he valued every student and every question. Dr Ruedy was always excited about teaching; my memories of his arms moving, rising like a crescendo, as he made a point, are vivid to this day. He had the ability to open your mind to new and different ideas and interpretations in compelling fashion. One of my favorite memories of his teaching, though, is the way he would explain the concept of isnd (chain of transmission of Islamic knowledge) to his undergraduates, mentioning that the information they were receiving came from Gustave von Grunebaum via Nikki Keddie and thence through Dr Ruedy himself. Those of us in the field of Middle East studies know that his was an isnd of the highest quality.
I was saddened to learn of Dr Ruedy's passing last fall. During my time at Georgetown, I was priviliged to have him at various points as my professor, my boss as both a research and a teaching associate, and my advisor; however, it often felt as if he was more of a third grandfather (like both of mine, Dr Ruedy was a World War II veteran) because of his warmth, caring demeanor, and good-natured comments. He was a renowned scholar and a great man; he leaves behind an enduring legacy, at Georgetown and beyond, and I believe he lives on through the thousands of us, his students, whose knowledge of the Middle East comes with the illustrious von Grunebaum-Keddie-Ruedy isnd.
My thoughts go out to Dr Ruedy's wife, Nancy, and the rest of his family, and to all who knew and cherished him.
Claire Pettengill
April 28, 2017
Dr. Ruedy was one of my first professors in the MAAS program in 1981. I still remember how much I learned from him, and as a teacher, I have always tried to live up to his example. He managed to hold students to extremely high standards while conveying both expertise and passion for his subject. He was a fascinating person. Thank you, Dr. Ruedy!
John Willis
April 21, 2017
I studied with Dr. Ruedy back in the 90s. He was full of humor, wonderfully supportive, and deeply principled. He will be greatly missed.
Toshiro Suzuki
April 4, 2017
I received the news about the passing of Dr. John Ruedy with great sorrow.
Fond memories about him have come back to me with the news, his powerful lecture style; straightforward but compassionate remarks, vigorous handshakes and so forth.
I was with the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown Univ. 1980-81 as a student con foreign-service officer of the Japanese government. He always gave me kind and proper guidance throughout the semester.
Attending his lecture on the history of the Islamic civilization was inspiring and truly enjoyable. The lecture gave me a good intellectual foundation for furthering the understanding of the subject throughout my diplomatic career.
I hereby pay him my sincere tribute. My thoughts are with the bereaved .
Kathryn Coughlin
March 25, 2017
I studied North African history with Prof. Ruedy, whose passion for teaching made the region come alive. I greatly enjoyed my classes with him at CCAS and in the History Department (1995-1998) but some of my fondest memories involved conversations about wine. In particular, he converted my disdain for the zinfadel grape to a life-long admiration. Explaining that the old vine red zinfadels of California bore no resemblance to their flabby, immature white wine zin cousins, he encouraged me to try wines outside my comfort zone and in doing so, inspired a life-long passion for all things wine. I thought of him last week as I reviewed a "new" old vine zin and I hope that he is enjoying excellent vintages of old red wine along with our Lord.
Liz Kepferle
March 25, 2017
Dr. Ruedy lingers with me through my CCAS memories: of his excitement at beginning to learn piano in his 60's; of his mentioning his daily runs; of his unique laugh, a sort of breathy bark that couldn't help but make us all laugh as well (and - full disclosure - lent itself well to MAAS student sketches of him). His scholarship and breadth of knowledge was impressive, his managerial skills were strong (never a given with faculty), and his gentlemanly demeanor was appreciated. My heart goes out to Nancy and their girls, and their grandchildren.
Mike and Marty Reimer
February 11, 2017
Marty and I were saddened to learn of Jack Ruedy's death in August 2016. We are honored to have known him and Nancy, and we extend our condolences to her and all his family as they continue to grieve. The narrative below expresses how indebted I am to Jack not only as a teacher and scholar but as a wonderful mentor and friend.
We met Jack - at that time, always Dr. Ruedy of course! - in fall 1980, as I was going to enter the MAAS (Masters in Arab Studies) program at Georgetown. Jack was one of the very first people we had contact with, and he and all the MAAS staff were cordial and encouraging. At the same time, it was obvious that Jack had high expectations of all students in the program, and I remember feeling intimidated! My first courses were Jack's Islamic Civilization and Arab-Israeli Conflict. I recall writing a bibliographic essay on biographies of the Prophet Muhammad for Islamic Civ. It was hardly a groundbreaking study, but Jack's affirming comments gave me confidence I could perhaps do the program after all.
In my second semester at Georgetown, our son Luke was born, very early one morning. Marty and I were ecstatic. But I had to make an in-class presentation that evening in Jack's Modernization seminar. I somehow stumbled through my talk, but was then surprised when Jack brought out the wine so we could all toast Luke's safe arrival! It was just one of many gestures showing his combination of scholarship and humanity.
I also recall an occasion when I met a former State Department official who was taking one of Jack's courses. The man shared with me the personal tragedy of his son's recent death in an accident. I knew that the Ruedys had lost a son, and when I mentioned the situation to Jack, he made it clear he would offer his condolences and comfort to that man, since he understood his grief and agony.
Another time, Marty told me a story about Jack, he was discussing teaching children in Sunday School; the lessons were about the Ten Commandments, and he was helping them understand them by coming up with a picture or symbol to summarize each one. The problem: how to do this with the commandment against adultery? He found a way, with the symbol of a broken heart.
When I was finishing MAAS, we had a decision to make: whether to take an attractive position as directors of an international school or enroll in CASA (an intensive Arabic program at A.U.C.). Naturally, we wanted Jack's advice. His advice was to go to Cairo and work on Arabic, because it was an opportunity that would probably not come again, even though it meant continuing life on a graduate student budget. It was the advice we needed and we have never regretted that decision - obviously, since we are living and working in Cairo until the present.
When we returned to D.C. and I started the History Ph.D. program, I again took several of Jack's courses. The most memorable was his full-year history of the Maghrib, which was an enormous challenge, because Jack's knowledge of the region and the sources for its study was so wide and deep, especially the French sources, which were his forte. Once again, it was not only Jack's scholarship which I admired, but also his abiding concern that we, his students, should grasp the human dimensions of the Maghrib's history. During this second stint at Georgetown our second child, Rachel, was born. I recall Jack smiling and saying, Now you have a real family! You don't get the full impact of family life (did he mean sleep deprivation?) with just one child! Well, anyway, he was happy for us, but also extremely supportive, since he too had completed graduate school while raising a family. Later, Jack agreed to be my dissertation advisor, and he was an affirming presence as I wrote up my research.
This is an altogether too meager statement of cherished moments as we look back on our relationship with Jack. I was always learning from him; to this day my lectures and comments about various subjects are often just modestly edited versions of things he said. But much more than his depth of knowledge and scholarly rigor, as important as those were, I took from Jack a sense of the profound influence that a teacher can have on a student. He wrote me a letter once in which he said that, even though you get alot more credit with colleagues for your research and publishing, the more lasting and meaningful satisfactions of a professor's life come when you realize that something you said or did as a teacher caused a student to change his or her major, maybe even the entire trajectory of his or her career and life. In my case, I am thankful that, even while living overseas, I was able to visit the Ruedys from time to time and renew that friendship, and express, however poorly, my gratitude for Jack's kind mentoring.
Our hope is that these words will give Nancy and all Jack's family comfort, that they will be uplifted as they recall Jack's faith in God, his generosity and kindness toward so many students and colleagues, and can be thankful for his life in the midst of their grieving.
Sincere regards and condolences, and much gratitude,
Mike and Marty Reimer
At my son's master's graduation in China. Inspired by 'attending' Dr Ruedy's conference as a baby.
Carol Graham
February 6, 2017
In my first class with John Ruedy - Islamic Civilization - I remember thinking that this was why I had come to college. He possessed an intellect as broad and deep as his subject and he knew how to take you 'inside' the history he taught. His lectures were literally spellbinding. He was my undergraduate advisor and I remember lamenting that I was finding it difficult to maintain A grades (except in history) due to the intensive Arabic course where I knew I needed to maintain an A not to fall behind. In a serious voice he told me that he had easily mastered French and German before beginning Arabic and naively expected that learning Arabic would be no different. "I decided" he told me "that Arabic was invented to humble the proud." Later he encouraged me to enrol in the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies as one of the first students. We were all aware that we were building something important and it made us more than students and professors. We became a family. And a cherished 'family' event was the cookout at the Ruedys where we all loved seeing Nancy. The Ruedys both continued to be wonderful friends and as he watched me grow and have a family I also watched his beloved North Africa studies develop from a relatively obscure area (for Georgetown) when I was a freshman to the status it has today. When he organised his North Africa symposium for the first time (also 'attended' by my baby son when I could not find a sitter) he smiled at the baby and then looked at me and we both said "can you believe it!" as we surveyed the full auditorium. It was a tremendous success and it showed me - yet again- what can be accomplished with solid intellectual credentials, determination and vision. It is impossible for me to say how much I owe him - my education, my career and my deep love for history. John Ruedy has many legacies but some of the most enduring reside in the hearts of those of us who will always find their inspiration in his scholarship and in his compassion for others. My thoughts and those of my family are with Nancy, their children and grandchildren.
Haifaa Khalafallah
February 1, 2017
An outstanding professor; lucky to have known him as a Masters & PhD student.
And how often did I also listen to his undergraduate students speak of their appreciation of the many doors to the world of the mind that Dr. Ruedy opened for them. Not only the study of North Africa, but also his Arab-Israeli conflict courses show a standard of scholarship second to none at Georgetown Univ. But most of all, I will miss his humanity and the opportunity for another lunch with him. Haifaa G. Khalafallah
Joseph Earley
August 12, 2016
For many decades my wife, Shirley, and I greatly enjoyed meeting Jack and Nancy Ruedy at Georgetown-faculty social events, frequently in the Copley Library. This pleasure continued after both Jack and I formally retired, through occasional activities of the Association of Main-Campus Retired Faculty (AMCRF).
Jack was a frequent and highly-effective volunteer instructor in the Georgetown University Learning Community (an AMCRF-run program of short courses for persons "55 or better"). In these classes, Jack used long and wide experience and understanding of the history and culture of North Africa and the Middle East to greatly enlighten many senior-citizen auditors, including me. He truly was an outstanding professor.
Both Shirley and I extend warm sympathy and sincere condolence to Nancy, and to the rest of Jack's Family. May happy memories be some consolation in this great loss.
Susan Douglass
August 11, 2016
A wonderful professor who was always honest and sincere about his take on the situation, as well as being gracious with students who held different opinions.
Carlos Roa
August 8, 2016
In memoriam of a Georgetown professor. My prayers are with him and his family.
Helen Kantor
August 7, 2016
What a wonderful life and family - this is how I think of Uncle Jack!
Philip Carson
August 6, 2016
I loved Uncle Jack and so fondly remember the many conversations we had about politics, family and life. I will miss him and always hold him in my loving thoughts.
August 6, 2016
I knew Jack through our movie group. He had a sharp intelligence and a grand wit. He will be missed
Ranjit Singh
August 5, 2016
I fondly remember taking his course around 1990. A wonderful teacher. Best wishes to his family.
Susan Ruedy
August 5, 2016
I am praying for you and your family as you mourn the loss of Uncle Jack and as you celebrate his life and legacy.
Showing 1 - 26 of 26 results
Make a Donation
in JOHN RUEDY's name
Memorial Events
for JOHN RUEDY
How to support JOHN's loved ones
Honor a beloved veteran with a special tribute of ‘Taps’ at the National WWI Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The nightly ceremony in Washington, D.C. will be dedicated in honor of your loved one on the day of your choosing.
Read more
Should I Send Sympathy Flowers?
What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative?
Read more
What Should I Write in a Sympathy Card?
We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time.
Read moreResources to help you cope with loss
How to Cope With Grief
Information and advice to help you cope with the death of someone important to you.
Read more
Estate Settlement Guide
If you’re in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist.
Read more
Obituaries, grief & privacy: Legacy’s news editor on NPR podcast
Legacy's Linnea Crowther discusses how families talk about causes of death in the obituaries they write.
Read moreWays to honor JOHN RUEDY's life and legacy
Obituary Examples
You may find these well-written obituary examples helpful as you write about your own family.
Read more
Obituary Templates – Customizable Examples and Samples
These free blank templates make writing an obituary faster and easier.
Read more
How Do I Write a Eulogy?
Some basic help and starters when you have to write a tribute to someone you love.
Read more
