Jonathan Craig Rutherford

Jonathan Craig Rutherford was born January 13, 1971 to Benita Rutherford (Ramsey) at St. Ann’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio as the oldest of three children. Jonathan passed away at the age of 55 on Wednesday January 14, 2026. As an old African proverb says, he was raised by a village of his loving family and extended family.

Jonathan graduated from St. Joseph High School in 1989. Jonathan worked hard throughout college putting in overtime at McDonalds to pay for school. He began his education at Hampton University in Virginia and later transferred to and graduated from The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) in Washington, DC in 1998 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance. On April 16, 1994, Jonathan was initiated into the Omicron Omicron Chapter (affectionately known as The Deadly Double O) of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. (AΦA). Jonathan loved his fraternity and fraternity brothers and continued to serve Alpha after graduation as a graduate advisor for many years.

Following graduation Jonathan began his professional career with companies like NASA but later transitioned to becoming a realtor, which he spent most of his professional career doing. He built his business from the ground up starting with RE/MAX and finished his career selling multi-million-dollar homes in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia with Sotheby’s Realty. Jonathan was a member of several professional organizations like 100 Black Men of America INC. and The Back Realtor Association. Jonathan spent most of his adult life living in Washington, DC and built a life along with his long-term friend James Waller. In 2019 Jonathan moved back home to Cleveland, Ohio to be closer to his family.

Jonathan had a great love for Doberman’s, Corvettes, and traveling. Throughout his life he had a total of 6 Dobermans and cared for them as if they were his children. He was an amazing dog dad and learned everything he could about raising Dobermans. Jonathan’s second love was Corvette’s. Once he got his first Corvette, he was hooked and always had one. He loved to put the top down and the dogs in the passenger seat and drive around town. His third love was traveling, especially to beach destinations. His favorite travel destination was South Beach where he would go at least twice a year. He also travelled numerous other places around the country such as Las Vegas, New York, and The Pocono’s, plus several trips to Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

Jonathan was a very hard-working man who was willing to take on new tasks that challenge him beyond his comfort zone. One of Jonathan’s favorite quotes was “work hard, play harder” and he lived his life by this mantra. He brought light into all the lives he touched and demanded excellence from all those around him. Jonathan is survived by his loving mother Benita Ramsey, brothers Matthieu Ramsey and Aaron Ramsey, Sister-in-law Tierra Ramsey, his niece and nephew Aaron and Ava Ramsey, Aunt Cynthia Merritt, Uncle Arthur Merritt, Uncle Brian Craighead, Aunt Rita Taylor, Uncle Ronald Ramsey, Aunt Patricia Ramsey, and first cousins Stephanie (Jorge) Castro, Elizabeth Ramsey, Nichelle Rutherford, Aimeé Rutherford, James Rutherford as well as many other relatives, friends, and loved ones and his beloved Doberman’s Dacler and Kodak.