James (Jim) L. Ruhlen

James Lester “Jim” Ruhlen passed away peacefully on July 4th, 2025 at Village Shalom in Overland Park, Kansas. He was born in Corpus Christi, Texas on April 23rd, 1946. He grew up between Conway, Arkansas and Powhattan, Kansas, with some early time in Hull, Massachusetts, as his father, Ralph Lester Ruhlen, pursued his PhD studies at Boston University, along with various ministry appointments and professorships. They moved to Lenexa, Kansas before settling in Baldwin, Kansas when he was 13. He pursued interests in music (violin and choir) as well as a fascination with chemistry, which he went on to pursue in college. His mother, Elizabeth Louise, passed away suddenly, a month before his 17th birthday.

He began college at Baker University, in Baldwin, Kansas, after graduating a year early from high school. He met his wife, Leigh Dawn, in a freshman philosophy class, and they were married two years later, after Jim transferred to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After graduation, he began PhD studies in Chemistry with a Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. A spectacularly failed experiment led him to a change of heart and he switched paths to study medicine the following year at the University of Kansas Medical School.

After medical school, he completed an internship and Residency in Internal Medicine, which he continued to practice until his retirement at age 72. He and Leigh lived in the Kansas City area since he began medical school, most of that time in Overland Park, at the house they built for their family together in 1979-1980. He practiced in Olathe, Kansas, primarily in private practice, in affiliation with the Olathe Medical Center, and then directly for them during the last decade of his active practice.

He exhibited great devotion as a doctor and as a husband and as a father. He worked long hours and pursued continuing education in Echocardiography, but somehow, he never seemed unavailable when it came to his family. His devotion was deeply felt.

His early interest in music blossomed into an ongoing love for classical music and opera. He was a frequent attendee of the Lyric Opera and the Kansas City Symphony. He and Leigh would take trips to see opera performances in other cities as well.

They loved to travel internationally and he would make efforts to learn some of the languages of their destinations, especially Italian and French. It helped that these overlapped with the languages of his favorite operas.

He enjoyed tennis and skeet shooting, Italian and French cuisine, gardening and outdoor grilling, book club and bridge with friends, and occasionally singing in choirs. Perhaps most of all, he enjoyed spending time with family.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his youngest brother, Paul, his brother-in-law, Ed Jennings, and his nephew, Brian Blecha. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Leigh, and their two sons, Matt (Amanda), who have a daughter, Vivian, and Todd (Katherine), and their son, Aiden. He is also survived by his younger siblings, David (Betty), Tom (Sarah), Alice, Peter and Rebecca (Fuji), and by his sister-in-law, Gail, and by many nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews.

A visitation is planned for 2-3pm on August 30th at the Johnson County Funeral Chapel & Memorial Gardens, with a Quaker-inspired memorial service to follow immediately afterward at 3pm.