Jim Ruthenberg, who lived and worked for many years in East Hampton, Montauk, and Amagansett, died on May 25 at UPMC Cole, a hospital in rural Pennsylvania near where he lived in Port Allegany, Pa. He was 76 and had been ill for a long time.
James P. Ruthenberg was born in Detroit on Feb. 9, 1946, to Elmer Ruthenberg and the former Pauline Dornbrock. He grew up in Michigan and graduated high school there. He turned down an offer to play baseball professionally, choosing instead to enter dental school then enlisted in the Army after a year. He was honorably discharged after serving two years in Vietnam.
While living in Michigan, Mr. Ruthenberg worked for the Ajax Company, coached his son’s baseball team, and helped his daughter become a successful track athlete. After 16 years, he left Michigan and joined his brother on Long Island in the carpentry business. Later, he took a job with Mark Richard at his East Hampton Buick and Pontiac dealership, working for five years, and, on his days off, on a fishing boat out of Montauk. He later worked for McCoy Fuel as a gas station attendant in Amagansett for 15 years, and afterward went back on the water with Harry Lester’s crew.
Mr. Ruthenberg and Marjorie L. Merrill were married in Amagansett in April 2001. A previous marriage, to Marietta Gervasi of Michigan, ended in divorce.
He enjoyed music, particularly blues, jazz, and Motown, and felt especially moved, relatives said, by the sounds of the piano, saxophone, and harmonica. He loved animals and nature and was a diehard Jets fan. He could often be found watching sports and “Blue Bloods” on TV; his all-time favorite movie was “The Godfather.”
In addition to his wife, Mr. Ruthenberg leaves a daughter, Jamie Ruthenberg of Clarkston, Mich., a son, Jason Ruthenberg of Rochester, Mich., and two stepdaughters, Dawn M. Kent of Roulette, Pa., and Emily J. Shaw of Port Allegany. Four granddaughters survive as well; they are Gracie Miller, Emerson Ruthenberg, Noelle Ruthenberg, and Vera Ruthenberg. He also leaves three step-grandchildren, Joshua Kent, Christa Bean, and Elijah Gant, and three step-great-grandchildren, Aliyah, Winnie, and Sawyer. A brother, William Ruthenberg of St. Augustine, Fla., also survives, as do several nieces and nephews.
Mr. Ruthenberg was cremated. Military honors will be accorded next Thursday at 2 p.m. at the V.F.W. in Port Allegany. His family has suggested memorial donations to the Wounded Warrior Project, online at bit.ly/3mRyWE4. Condolences and memories can be shared on the Virgil L. Howard Funeral Home website or its Facebook page.
