Duane Augustus Ruff

Duane A. Ruff, age 85 of Albion, went to be with his lord and savior on Thursday, February 27, 2020 at his residence. He was born May 19, 1934 in Albion to Elwin and Lena (Kaiser) Ruff. When he was 4 years old, the family moved from a farm east of Albion to Parma and then back to Albion when he was 11 years old. He graduated from Albion High School in 1952.

On September 7, 1963 he united in marriage with Nancy Scherer who preceded him

in death.

Duane was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend who will be dearly

missed by all who loved him. He was known as everyone’s handyman. There wasn’t a

project big or small that he said “no” to. He always lent a helping hand. In addition to being

a selfless person, he was compassionate to all he met and earned the nickname “mother” because he was always taking care of others. He served our country honorably in the National Guard as a Supply Sargent for 12 years. Duane enjoyed traveling and loved spending time with his children and grandchildren. Duane truly never retired. He was always busy with a project, building something for someone, and helping others until just a few months ago. During his working life, he was a foreman at McGraw Edison, co-owner of Five Points Sinclare Gas Station (1954 to 1957), co-owner of Woody’s Gas Station, Manager of Martinizing Cleaners in Battle Creek and “retiring” from Ruff & Kreger’s Builders in 2016. He also helped with building the J. Kevin Tidd Funeral Home.

He is survived by his loving daughters, Jody (Jeff) Young, Lisa Downey and a son,

Allan (Heather) Ruff; grandchildren, Sydney Downey, Corey Downey, Mason Griffith, Morgan Griffith, Aliza Ruff and Alexandra Ruff; brother, Clarence (Mary) Ruff; sister-in-law, Barbara Messacar (Skip Zabel); nieces, Kim Bergs, Angie Ruff, Milissa Ashford, Elizabeth Tarr, Amy Vervaras;

Nephews, Chris Ruff, Jamie Vervaras, Todd Vervaras, Brant Whitelock, Brett Whitelock, Donnie Messacar and several great nieces and nephews.

A gathering of family and friends will be Thursday, March 5, 2020 from 5-7 PM at J. Kevin Tidd Funeral Home, 811 Finley Dr., Albion. The funeral service will be Friday, March 6, 2020 at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 100 Luther Blvd., Albion with visitation at 10AM before the service at 11AM with Pastor Paul Koehn officiating. He will then be laid to rest next to Nancy in Riverside Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, The Glioblastoma Foundation or to the National Cancer Society.

To leave online messages of condolence, please visit www.kevintiddfuneralhome.com

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