Scott Alan Ruffe
Thu, 08/21/2014 - 6:00am
News Staff
Scott Alan Ruffe was graciously taken home by Archangel Michael on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013, at the age of 50 — just three days prior to his 51st birthday. Scott was born in Gunnison on Dec. 27, 1962, to Roland “Corky” and Susan Ruffe. Scott started at an early age playing sports, and his true love and passion was baseball. At the first opportunity he jumped at the chance to play with the OTA teams in Gunnison. He could throw faster and harder with greater accuracy than boys twice his age. He then progressed and dearly loved his time being on all the All Star Babe Ruth Baseball teams. He earned the respect and admiration of all his teammates. He played football, basketball and baseball starting in elementary school and continued baseball through college. He could throw a football a country mile and could kick it farther and hang it up there longer than anyone could imagine. He was the all-state punter in football his senior year and could kick the football like no one else. He had a tremendous hang time and if he ever intended to give an angel a ride to heaven, he is the one that could have done it. He graduated from Gunnison High School with his class of 1981. He then attended Garden City Community College for one year to play baseball, then transferred to Mesa State College in Grand Junction. Scott was employed with Curtis Mathis in Grand Junction for several years where he acquired a passion for all things electronic; just ask his friends that he installed satellite dishes or stereo systems for. He managed a rent-to-own store with his brother Jeff for several years before moving back to Gunnison, at which time he went into the water treatment business with his father and brother, Stephen. After his father’s passing in July of 1996, Scott and Stephen continued to operate Natural Waterworks Inc. as the authorized Kinetico dealer for the 11 counties of southwest Colorado, until they closed the business in 2009. Scott was the most gentle, giving, kind, loving and respectful person willing to do for others before doing for himself without expectations of receiving anything in return. He was truly the embodiment of unconditional love. Scott did everything he did with a passion, expecting perfection from himself and helping those around him to expect perfection from themselves. He truly loved to see others achieve their best in everything they did. He always had a friendly wave and a smile that lit up like no one else’s. His smile came from deep within his heart and his soul. He wore his smile for everyone he knew. We’ve come to realize that it is his smile that is truly missed by all who knew him. Scott’s greatest loves in life were his nieces, Sophia and Olivia. He loved all of his adventures with them. Whether it was excursions in “Grandma’s Backyard,” taking a tour of the hot springs of Colorado from Ouray or Glenwood with the highlight being Waunita Hot Springs, tubing the Tomichi River, riding the gondola in Telluride or showing them how to navigate the waterslides at Water World and the rides at Elitches. With Scott, it was always family first, always and forever. Scott had a quick wit and found life full of laughter. Scott gave more pleasure to those around him, and that we will all miss. Scott’s mother said that Scott was God’s gift to us and we are thankful for all the precious moments we had to enjoy with him during his brief visit here on earth. Scott is now, and forever will be, genuinely missed by all those who knew him. Scott was and forever will be our big little brother. He was big in stature, big in heart, big with love and compassion, and big with worldclass character. We owe so much to him. He was our teacher, our protector and mostly our best friend. He was always there for us. Scott, your spirit will always and forever remain in our hearts and our souls. Thank you, Scott, for blessing our lives with your presence, albeit much too short. We all love you, always and forever, and look forward to the day we are all again reunited together in heaven. Scott was predeceased by his paternal grandparents, Glenn and Hazel Ruffe of Placerville, Colo.; his maternal grandparents, Frank and Marguerite Stephenson of Gunnison; and his father, Roland “Corky” Ruffe of Gunnison. He is survived by his mother, Susan Ruffe, of Gunnison; his Sister, Rhonda (Chuck) Price, of Orchard City, Colo.; his brother, Stephen Ruffe, of Gunnison; his brother, Jeff (Carol) Ruffe, of Arvada; and his two cherished nieces, Sophia and Olivia Ruffe, of Arvada. A Memorial Service and Celebration of Scott’s Life will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 30, at the Church of the Good Samaritan, in Gunnison. The family would like to invite everyone to a reception that will follow immediately after the service.
