Seymour Rutberg

Rutberg, Seymour
May 17, 1919 - Feb. 4, 2009

Seymour Rutberg, 89, Sarasota died Feb. 4, 2009.
Services will be 9:30 a.m. Monday at Temple Emanu-El. Interment will be in Florida National Cemetery. Toale Brothers Funeral Home, Colonial Chapel, is in charge of the arrangements.
He was born May 17, 1919, in Dorchester, Mass., the son of Bessie Lebb Rutberg and David Rutberg, and the brother of Julia Rutberg Krasnegor and Ruth Rutberg Wolfe. He was married 59 years to the late Marjorie Caroline Fisher Rutberg. He was a 1942 graduate of Northeastern University, with a BA in sociology.
As a child growing up in the early years of aviation following World War I, Seymour developed what was to become a lifelong fascination with automobiles, aviation and flying, reading about the exploits of the early pioneers of aviation, and building and flying model airplanes. During the Great Depression he developed what were to become keen skills as an entrepreneur and worked throughout his life, with, among others, his brother-in-law, Edward Wolfe, retailing automobiles up and down the East Coast.
At the 1939 World's Fair in New York City, Seymour met an Army Air Corps recruiter and decided then and there to become an Army pilot. Following graduation from Northeastern University in 1942, Seymour enlisted as a flying cadet in the Army Air Force, and in 1943 received his commission and wings.
During World War II, Lt. Rutberg was a pilot with the 78th Squadron, 435th Troop Carrier Group, 53rd Troop Carrier Wing, 9th Troop Carrier Command, based in England. On D-Day he flew two missions, first dropping 101st Airborne paratroopers, then towing a glider, later ditching his crippled C-47 in the English Channel. He went on to fly sorties in Operation Dragoon (Southern France), Operation Market Garden (Netherlands), and many missions to resupply the U.S. 3rd Army on its drive through France, the encircled 101st Airborne holding Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge, U.S. forces that captured the Rhine River bridge at Remagen, Germany, and U.S. forces advancing into Germany until VE Day. He completed his service in 1946, with the rank of captain.
In 1943 Seymour met his beloved copilot and sweetheart, Marjorie Caroline Fisher, while training for overseas duty, and they were wed in July 1945, in Boston, Mass. As a resident of Mattapan, Quincy, Brookline and Newton, Mass., during the 1940s-1970s, Seymour's career spanned proprietorships of several automobile dealerships, and, later, management positions with the Boston offices of the investment firms Shearson, Hammill; Studley Shupert; and Burgess & Leith. In 1978 Seymour and Marjorie retired to Sarasota to enjoy nearly four decades of long-awaited retirement in the sun among family, friends, wildlife, and gardens. He remained active as an entrepreneur in the financial investment community for many years thereafter, an active member of his homeowner's association boards, and a devoted mentor to a number of young entrepreneurs beginning their business careers.
Seymour is survived by son Ira Rutberg, of McLean Va.; and daughter Dr. Judith Rutberg-Self, son-in-law Dr. Steven Self and grandchildren Benjamin and Rachael Self, all of Bainbridge Island, Wash.
The family requests that expressions to honor Seymour's life be made as donations to TideWell Hospice and Palliative Care, Sarasota.