Raymond N. Ruhle

1953 - 2016

Lifelong Alaskan Raymond Ruhle, 63, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family in Anchorage, Alaska, on Sept. 17, 2016. Ray was born on March 3, 1953, in Ketchikan, Alaska, to parents Kenneth and Retha Ruhle. Raised in Metlakatla, in Southeast Alaska, he learned great pride for the Alaskan way and culture. Whether picking abalone with his mom, selling handpicked cotton "flowers" to strangers at the airport for a dime, waiting patiently for the vegetable boat to arrive, or playing with local friends in the woods, Metlakatla built the Alaskan foundation and love and respect of the land and people in Ray. His freshman year of high school he moved from rural Alaska to Bellingham, Wash., with his family, where we are certain he blended in seamlessly with his old Sears and Roebuck catalog attire and tales of the mysterious north. Not surprisingly, he joined the military moments after graduation where, among other things, he was shipped to Germany. There he accumulated a lifetime of stories and love for the cuisine, and dabbled in his talents as a photographer. Returning to Bellingham, post-military, he met and married his lovely wife, Alinda "Lindy" Hartnell, on Sept. 30, 1978, and soon welcomed equally-favorite children: Torrie, Tyson and Heather. They would all later come to be known famously in their own right as Team Ruhle. With mountains in his eyes and fear in his wife's, Ray moved the family back home to Alaska in 1984, where they blossomed and grew amidst the tundra. With an ever-growing, never diminishing thirst for knowledge, Raymond plunked through one hobby after another. From woodworking to knitting, stampin' to golf, snorkeling in Hawaii to ironing (yes, this was a talent) his diversity and ease in ability impressed. Perhaps his greatest hobby was his family, related and otherwise. He took great pride in the success of all those close to him, especially his children and three grandchildren, Jadyn (Torrie), Amelia and Ava (Tyson and Sarah). Jadyn is seeing to it that Ray Ruhle's fashion sense will live on. And the family would like to preemptively apologize to the Loussac Library for the deficit they will accrue in the absence of Ray's overdue book fines. Ray touched so many with his kindness, advice, humor and love. His words were chosen and always polite. Those lucky enough to receive any of these things are forever better for it. Ray joins his mother and father; sister, Barbara; and two brothers, Ed and Russell. He is survived by his wife; children; grandchildren; sister, Rosemary; nieces; nephews; and many friends in the electrical business, "the rooms," and corners all over Alaska. Ray will be buried with honors at Fort Richardson National Cemetery in a private setting. A celebration of life will be held at O'Malley's on the Green on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016, at 3 p.m. Friends are invited to share stories and Hawaiian aloha. Arrangements have been entrusted to Legacy Funeral Homes Bragaw Chapel. Ray Ruhle, you make our hearts soar like an eagle.