Lambert Duane Ruff

April 21, 1930 - April 6, 2022

Lambert Duane Ruff was born in Buffalo County, Wisconsin on April 21, 1930 to George & Nora Ruff, dairy farmers in WI during the Great Depression. The youngest of five children (Marjorie, Merlyn, Phyllis, Junior, and then Lambert), theirs was a hard-working, frugal, waste-nothing life on the farm. At 20, Lambert joined the Air Corps of the US Army, which later became the US Air Force during his enlistment, during the Korean Conflict (War). Lambert was trained as an Electric Technician by the Air Force. His duty station was maintaining the newly developed RADAR station atop Mount Tamalpais (Marin County, CA) which overlooked the coast line of the Pacific Ocean to protect the greater San Francisco Bay Area and California from enemy craft. This training served him well, as later he worked for the AT&T company (Pacific Telesis) in San Francisco for 38 years as a telecommunications specialist. … designing, installing, and maintaining telephone systems in the downtown buildings of San Francisco. Lambert passed on April 6, 2022 just shy of his 92nd birthday. He is survived by his wife of almost 69 years, four children, seven grandchildren, and eleven (11) great-grandchildren … most of whom knew “Ruff” as a got-down-on-the-floor-with-me-to-play kind of grandfather and great-grandfather. Lambert elected to be cremated, with his ashes scattered at Green Valley Mortuary & Cemetery (Rescue, CA) just down the road from where he and Marlene lived since 1996 (just east of Sacramento in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains) having moved into retirement from the San Francisco Bay Area (CA). Lambert will be remembered for his strong work ethic, love of being outside doing all-things-physical, determination for continual self-improvement, tolerance and patience with all kinds of people (the modern term is: Diversity & Inclusion), and of course, as having a strong stubborn streak to continue whatever he set his mind to do. Although his ashes are scattered in the Valley Oak Garden at Green Valley, there is a large boulder in the garden with a bronze plaque bearing his name. Nearby is his mother-in-law, Gladys (“Glady”) Steele. He wanted it this way … don’t take up too much room, leave some room for others, and be part of the Big Outside … “may as well enjoy the weather — not much you can do about it."