Christopher E. Rutkowski

Christopher Erik Rutkowski April 12, 1959 July 14, 2017 Attorney Christopher Erik Rutkowski, 58, died on July 14, 2017, at his home in Hublersburg, after a long illness. He ran for district attorney of Centre County in 2004, and served as counsel on murder cases and many other criminal cases. He is survived by his mother, Chia In Rutkowski, nee Wang, of Hublersburg; his brother, Thaddeus Rutkowski, of New York, N.Y.; his sister, Hollie Rutkowski, of Sacramento, Calif.; and a son, Justin Sauers, of Fort Worth, Texas. Erik was born on April 12, 1959, in Kingston, and graduated from Bellefonte Area High School, Bellefonte. He was on the varsity football and track-and-field teams and still holds a record in the triple jump at the high school. He graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Penna., with a bachelor's degree and received his J.D. degree from Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, Calif. He worked as an attorney in Los Angeles for 22 years, practicing personal injury law. During part of this time he was married to Lisa Borkowski. The couple divorced in 1998. Erik returned to Pennsylvania in 2003. He worked as a public defender in Franklin, the county seat of Venango County, from 2006 to 2010. From 2010, he worked in private practice from his home in Hublersburg. In 2012, he served as co-counsel for the defendant in a murder case in Potter County. The defendant pleaded guilty to the murder charge. Erik was a body builder all his adult life and won trophies in body-building contests in California. Services and burial will be private at the convenience of the family. Arrangements are under the care of Wetzler Funeral Service, Inc., Bellefonte. Memorial contributions may be made to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, Monterrey, Calif. (www.montereybayaquarium.org)