Ret. Colonel William Rudolph "Rudy" Reilly

Ret. Colonel William Rudolph Reilly ("Rudy"), 81, of Pensacola, Florida, passed away on July 30, 2025.

Reilly's love for our Nation was evident by his long and dedicated service to the United States Air Force, DFAS and the Ohio National Guard. He served in Mississippi, California, Germany, Greece (Unit Commander), Montana (Missile Launch Officer), Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio. Colonel Reilly retired from military service in 1996 but continued to support and defend the United States in his role as a federal contractor.

Born on July 1, 1944, in Virgina to Ernest C. and Mary M. Reilly, he graduated from Old Dominion and was commissioned in the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant. He spent many years in Noblesville, Indiana, before he relocated to Pensacola, where he kept busy with golf league, RV cross country trips and world travel.

Colonel Reilly is survived by his wife, Sue, and nearly too many daughters and grandchildren to count.

The four Reilly girls (Mary, Erin, Suzanne and Michelle) will remember him with love as the dad who made homemade pizza for their Knight Rider Fridays, checked their math homework (see Missile Launch Officer credits above) and shared his extra MREs at the end of an active duty drill weekend. His two bonus daughters (Katy and Kelly) will remember him for his expert consumer research skills and love for their families as his own.

His 17 grandchildren (Ethan, Jack, Maddie, Grace, Elle, Libby, Henry, Ollie, Patrick, James, William, Quentin, Josephine, Emmett, Ben, Sydney and Thomas) will remember him for his endless political and history factoids, Indiana Jones movies played at DEFCON 1 levels and his famous batches of beef jerky. For all of them, he was simply gone too soon.

A memorial service will be held at Waters & Hibbert Funeral Home on Monday August 18, 2025, with visitation starting at 12:30PM and Services starting at 1:30PM, followed immediately by interment at Fort Barrancas on Naval Air Station Pensacola with full military honors.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Wounded Warriors Project in Colonel Reilly's memory.