William P. Ruoff

William P. Ruoff of Port Orange, FL, passed away peacefully on April 2, 2026, after a valiant fight with cancer. Bill was born on January 3, 1945, in Brooklyn, NY, to William H. and Josephine Ruoff. He was the youngest of four children. Following his graduation from Erasmus Hall High School, Bill was employed as a lineman at New York Telephone. It was there that he met his wife Carmen whom he married in 1965. Bill and Carmen moved to Massapequa, New York in 1970. The couple shared three daughters, Lisa, Laura, and Christine. Bill enjoyed a 20-year career as an Assistant Civil Engineer with the City of New York, Department of Ports and Terminals. In 1986, Bill and Carmen relocated to St. Augustine, FL, and opened Verrazano Pizza.

Bill proudly served his country in three different branches of the military, first in the Army Reserves in the 1960’s, then in the Air Force Reserves, and finally in the Air National Guard. Bill had a lifelong passion for aviation that began as a young boy watching the airplanes take off and land at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. In the 1980’s, Bill volunteered with the local Civil Air Patrol unit on Long Island. He then joined the 913th Airlift Unit of the Air Force Reserves located in Willow Grove, PA. He devoted himself to training and quickly earned numerous certificates and qualifications. Bill started as an airplane mechanic and proudly rose to the position of flight engineer on the unit’s featured aircraft, the C-130. He served for decades during both times of peace and times of conflict, including in Central America in the 1980’s and after September 11. He flew thousands of missions during his career, including such highlights as flying in the Blue Angels C-130J “Fat Albert” and flying over the Rose Bowl dropping paratroopers into the stadium as part of the pregame festivities. Although Bill earned a commercial pilots license, he still enjoyed flying small airplanes, including his beloved Cessna 172. In addition, he found strength and purpose as a member of the Freemasons.

Following the death of his wife Carmen in 2001, Bill met and married Maria Malan in 2005. Maria brought great peace and joy to his life for 20 years. In addition to his wife Maria and his daughters Lisa Penpraze, Laura Ruoff, and Christine Hand (Charlie), Bill is survived by his grandchildren Annmarie Switzer (Cale), Carmen Argiros, Anthony Argiros (Samantha), Colin Hand, and Bryce Penpraze, as well as great grandchildren Cecelia, Lily and Christopher Scott, and Sienna Argiros. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends, including friends of Bill Wilson.

Bill will be interred with full military honors at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery on April 21, 2026. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Bill’s memory to the Civil Air Patrol.

https://development.gocivilairpatrol.com/forms/donate