Russell V. Ruark

Our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather Rus Ruark passed away on June 12th at his home surrounded by family and friends for whom he had been the strength and support for so many years. He battled multiple myeloma for 7 years, 9 months and fought with all his might.

He was born in Salisbury, Maryland to Pauline Disharoon and Oliver Ruark. He was in the US Navy from 1964 to 1970 and did a 1 year tour of duty in Viet Nam. On return from Viet Nam he met and married the love of his life, Ola Pawlun, and they celebrated 50 years of marriage this past March. Together they raised 2 daughters and enjoyed the beach and some traveling. Rus was a sports enthusiast. He was on baseball teams, bowling leagues, and excelled in racquetball. His love was golf and he played when he could. When his daughters and grandchildren played sports he was their strongest cheerleader and attended as many games as he was able.

He had a long, varied, and successful career in business management and in banking. He retired in 2010 due to his disease.

Rus leaves to cherish his memory, and we definitely will, his wife, Ola Pawlun Ruark; his daughters, Laura DiRusso (Mark) and Cynthia Wood (David); his grandchildren, Andrew and Matthew Peterson, Alexandra and Joshua Wood; and the newest joy of his life, great grandson Brantley Russell Peterson. He will be dearly missed by his pitbull, Diva.

He is survived by his sisters, Patricia Elias, Deborah Chamberlain, Lisa Shelton; 10 nieces and nephews; and 27 great nieces and nephews.

Rus and the family would like to thank the many nurses and doctors who helped to ease the way through his illness and who kept him going for nearly 8 years. These include Drs. Bradley Slease and Cassandra Thomas at Helen Graham Cancer Center and Dr. Dan Vogl of Penn's Abramson Cancer Center; the nurses and staff of Drs. Slease and Thomas, especially Sandy, Carol, and Hope. Special thanks to the nursing staff of 6B and the dialysis unit at Christiana Hospital and the nursing staff at Heartland Hospice. Very, very special thanks to our family members, our dear friends, and neighbors. All have helped ease this difficult journey for Rus.

Family and friends are invited to visit at Holy Family Church, Chestnut Hill and Gender Roads, Newark on Friday, June 16 from 9:30-11:15AM.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:30AM, followed by interment in All Saints Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to either the Blood Bank of Delmarva, 100 Hygeia Drive, Newark, DE 19713 (www.delmarvablood.org),  the Knights of Columbus Chapter 4548 at Holy Family Church, c/o 15 Gender Road, Newark, DE 19713, or the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, 383 Main Avenue, 5th Floor, Norwalk, CT 06851 (www.themmrf.org).

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