My father-in-law, Rudy Luginbuhl, passed away peacefully Sunday morning February 16th, surrounded by family in his home after a full life of 91 years and a quick battle with lung cancer.
Our loss and heavens' gain. He was singing along with the music Saturday night as he listened to some of his favorite hymns.
My own father passed away when I was 32 and he was 65, so Rudy became not only my FIL when I married his youngest daughter in 1987, but my "father" when my own Dad passed away in 1992. I've actually known him longer than I knew my own Dad.
He took great interest in my Farmall Cub and had the opportunity to plow with it at ConnectiCubFest 2010.
Growing up on the family dairy farm in Ellington, CT, he was well acquainted with the rigors of farm life, especially before they transitioned from horse and oxen to tractors. He fondly recalled the tractor pulls where a John Deere and Farmall would be back to back in a Tug-of-War. More often than not, the Farmall would pull away first but as the 2-cylinder JD would gain momentum it would drag the Farmall across the line.
He graduated from a VoTech HS to work as an electrician, worked for the USDA as a produce inspector, owned & operated a Food Truck, went to night school to get his B.S. while he worked at Hamilton Standard, completed his M.S. and rose to Manager of Quality Control, and traveled the world for them before retiring in 1986. A highlight from his career at Hamilton Standard was to have all of the Apollo astronauts that walked on the moon in his office at one time. He then got his Real Estate License and worked for another 32 years before finally taking his shingle down in 2018. A civic minded man, he served on the town Board of Education and was a trustee on the board of Rockville Hospital. An avid fisherman, both fresh and saltwater, his tackle was always in his car, and never missed the opportunity to try his luck.
All the while, he loved on his wife of almost 70 years, his son and 3 daughters & spouses, 10 grandchildren, his own brothers & sisters as well as the 38 nephews and nieces.
Well done, good and faithful servant. You will be missed!
Thanks for reading.
Peter
