Richard Rudden

RUDDEN, RICHARD (DICK)
October 12, 1927 February 9, 2009
Dick was a Masonry Instructor at Red Rocks Community College (retired 1995), R.T.D. Director, Treasurer 1995-1998, 50-year pin Bricklayers Union #1-7 apprentice instructor, Adams County Planning Board, Berkeley Water and Sanitation, Metro Waste Water, Brick Institute of America, U.S. Navy WWII Light Cruiser Houston and U.S. Navy Cruiser Sailor's Assoc., Westminster Elks Club, V.F.W. Post 4171, Golden as a Life Member, 1983 and 1986 V.I.C.A. Skill Olympics Chairman Bricklaying and 1984 Aurora Public Schools Vocational Advisory Council. He is survived by his wife Gloria; son Mike (Sharon), daughter Wendy (Roger) Carter, grandchildren: Brian, Megan and Shaun and numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by brothers John and Frank W. and nephew John Gregory. Dick attended Holy Family High School and caddied at Case Golf Course in the summers. He was a vagabond at heart and after 5 years in the Navy. He and his friend Raleigh Henderson decided to thumb their way across the country. After several months on the road they arrived in Tucson, AZ. Hungry and disheveled they called Dick's Aunt Teresa. She had an all girl band and played the Tucson nightclubs. She took them in and cleaned them up and they spent a couple of months clubbing with his Aunt and her band; He always had fond memories of that time in his life. He then applied for an apprenticeship with the Brick Mason's Union and was a summer night waterman on the Case Golf Course. That's where he met Gloria, his wife to be. But he didn't make a very good impression because he banned her and her horse from riding on the golf course. He later made up for his bad manners by allowing Gloria to practice her driving skills in the city truck he was supposed to be using for watering the golf course. He had a friend who worked in a green house and every night he showed up with dozens of roses, there were roses in tubs and buckets and Gloria's mother was at wit's end dealing with roses. They married and would have celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary on February 13. Dick's masonry apprenticeship included building power plants across the country with Sterns and Rogers Construction Co. Then, in 1951 he and his father-in-law decided to build a bar and restaurant, The Sunnyside Tavern, and they managed it for 4 years before tiring of the hours and selling it. Dick was the ultimate bartender and neighborhood entertainer with his antics. He always filled the place. He then went back to large construction projects traveling over the country mostly on Federal projects. One day he decided to would apply for the position of Masonry Instructor at Red Rocks Community College. We all laughed because he like to roam; he started writing his resume, evidently he was the right candidate and he loved his teaching job and his students. He was involved with many groups that supported the programs he had at the college. He retired in 1995 and became involved in his neighborhood with the paint-a-thons and fundraisers as well as Berkeley Water and Sanitation and Metro Waste Water. He then decided to run for the R.T.D. board, was elected and served for 3 years. He then sent in his letter to the Adams County Commissioners applying for a spot on the planning board. He served until his illness forced him to resign. There are so many stories about Dick and some of the friends and former students have been asked to reiterate their stories and time with him. We will all miss him but will share his memory. Please share your memory of Dick at the service, which will be held Saturday, 2:30PM at Olinger Moore Howard Chapel (46th and Tennyson). Services will conclude in the chapel, as burial is private for the family.