J. Perry Ruddick

Joseph Perry Ruddick (“Perry”) of Palm Beach Gardens, FL and Nantucket, MA and formerly of Cedar Grove, NJ died comfortably in his home surrounded by family after a prolonged illness on Wednesday, June 15. He was 75 years old.

Mr. Ruddick was born in Montclair, NJ on March 28, 1936 to the late Girard Bliss Ruddick and Marcia Perry Ruddick Cook. He attended Montclair Academy and graduated from The Phillips Exeter Academy in 1954 and Princeton University in 1958. Mr. Ruddick received his M.B.A., with distinction, from The Harvard Business School in 1961. Mr. Ruddick, and his wife, Susan, were married on July 29, 1961 in Akron, OH.

Mr. Ruddick’s 30 year Wall Street career was spent entirely at Smith Barney. He first joined the firm as a Summer Associate in 1960, became the youngest partner at the time in 1968, and retired as Vice Chairman and Chief Administrative Officer in 1991. During his career he moved from international and domestic investment banking to securities trading, operations, finance, administration and asset management, allowing him to participate in almost every aspect of a business that he truly loved.

After retiring, Mr. Ruddick undertook increased conservation activities as a board member and President of the ‘Sconset Trust and a board member of the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, where he continued his efforts to help control the development of land activities on his beloved island, Nantucket. In 2008, Mr. Ruddick and his wife led the Sankaty Head Lighthouse Campaign, raising over $4 million to support the move of the lighthouse off the bluff and into a new spot where future generations can enjoy it for decades more to come. He also served as a member of the board of trustees at Nantucket Cottage Hospital.

Mr. Ruddick was a sports enthusiast and an accomplished athlete, playing on his high school and college tennis teams, as well as various club tennis and paddle tennis teams. But his true passion was golf! He was a member of the Sankaty Head Golf Club in Nantucket and the Old Marsh Golf Club in Florida, and a former member of the Montclair Golf Club in New Jersey and the Nantucket Golf Club. Highlights of his golfing career include playing in the Bing Crosby Pro-Am for several years, playing on the U.S. Seniors Amateur Golf Circuit and scoring a hole-in-one at Ventana Canyon.

Mr. Ruddick combined his business acumen with his love of sports when he served as a board member and President of the Sankaty Head Golf Club and the Sconset Casino Association (tennis club) in Nantucket, and on the Advisory Board of the Old Marsh Golf Club in Florida. In addition, he was a founding member of the Nantucket Golf Club. Formerly a long-standing member of the University Club of New York, Mr. Ruddick also enjoyed meeting there with his friends and business associates alike.

Mr. Ruddick will be remembered as a man dedicated to his family, friends and communities and one who was extremely successful in all he attempted. He is survived by his devoted family, including his wife, of almost 50 years, Susan; his three children, Julie Meade of Bronxville, NY, Pam Holding of Wellesley, MA and Girard Ruddick of Warren, RI; his seven grandchildren, Perry and Tommy Meade, Will, Chase and Abby Holding, and JP and Read Ruddick; his sons-in-law, Charlie Meade and Bill Holding and his daughter-in-law, Erin Ruddick. He was predeceased by his sister, Janet Cook Phillips.

Memorial services will be held in Siasconset, MA at 4:00pm on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at the Sconset Chapel and Montclair, NJ at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his name may be made to Hospice of Palm Beach County (5300 East Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33407) or The Sconset Trust (P.O. Box 821, Siasconset, MA 02564).