Necrology

Robert Roger Rudd '44

Oct. 24, 1922-Jan. 7, 2007

Robert Roger Rudd ’44, whose varied career began in military intelligence during World War II and ended in publishing, was born on October 24, 1922, in Clinton, NY. The elder son of Professor Robert Barnes Rudd ’09, who taught English at Hamilton for 41 years, and the former Mary-Rose Devereux, he was a grandson of Robert S. Rudd, Class of 1879. Roger Rudd grew up on College Hill and did his preparatory work at Portsmouth Priory School in Rhode Island. Returning to College Hill in 1940 to enter Hamilton, he joined his father’s and grandfather’s fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi, and participated in a variety of sports. Elected to DT, he left the College in early 1943 to go on active duty with the U.S. Army.

After completing the Army Air Corps’ premeteorology course at the University of Iowa, radar technician Roger Rudd was assigned to military intelligence and posted to the Army’s Japanese-language school at the University of Michigan. There he met Olive Jean Whitaker, whom he wed six months later, on December 22, 1945, in Oak Park, IL. Fluent in Japanese by then, he concluded his active military service as a first lieutenant with the occupation forces in Japan. Credited by Hamilton with courses taken while  in uniform, he was granted his A.B. degree in 1946 in absentia, his father accepting the diploma in his stead. Released from the Army in 1948, he remained in the Reserves until 1973, when he retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Upon his return to civilian life, Roger Rudd attended Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service for a year, followed by a year at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Awarded an M.A. in Far Eastern Studies by the School in 1950, he subsequently worked for the Central Intelligence Agency. Engaged in the publishing field in Japan for 6½ years, including work on the Japanese edition of Reader’s Digest, he returned to the United States in 1956 to spend the rest of his career in business, primarily in publishing and printing.

Among Roger Rudd’s many activities in the magazine field while residing in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, were as assistant publisher of Art in America and general manager of Famous Schools Magazine. He was also involved with such publications as Art News and Art Gallery. During the 1970s he embarked on his own small business venture as president of Fernside Press. Inc., a printing and publishing company in New York City. He later became president of Hudson Rudd Co., also a printing firm in Manhattan.

Following his retirement and afflicted with failing eyesight, R. Roger Rudd, with his wife “OJ,” resided at various time in various places ranging from Florida and California to Michigan, Maine, and Rhode Island. He died in Providence, RI, on January 7, 2007, leaving his wife of 61 years. Also surviving are two daughters, Margaret M. Rudd and Katherine Humphreys; three sons, Robert W. ’75, Richard B., and John S. Rudd; and 13 grandchildren and three sisters, Lee Rudd Ryan, Althea S. Rudd, and Mary D. Kierstead. He was predeceased by his brother, John D. Rudd, in 2005.

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