John Skeer Rudd

John Skeer Rudd, 49, of Wakefield, Rhode Island, died suddenly at his home on Sunday, January 31, 2010. John is survived by his daughter Shannon Caine Rudd and her mother Mary Jo Yeager Rudd of Wakefield, RI. He is also survived by his mother Olive Jean (OJ) Whitaker Rudd of Kingston, RI; his sisters Margaret and husband Thomas Peden of Houston, TX, and Katherine and husband Douglass Humphreys of East Greenwich, RI; and his brothers Robert Rudd of Ardsley, NY and Richard Beswick (Wick) Rudd and wife Maura of Newport, RI. He also had numerous nieces and nephews who delighted him. John was born in New York City on March 10, 1960 and grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, attending Hastings public schools. In 1982, he graduated from Swarthmore College where he majored in history and philosophy, and he earned a Juris Doctor from SUNY Law School at Queens College in 1988. After law school, John clerked for Judge Gregory W. Carman of the US Court of International Trade in NY before working for the EPA in Washington, DC. He then practiced law at the firm of Preti Flaherty in Portland, Maine where he was a partner, and subsequently at American BioPhysics Corp. in North Kingstown, RI, where he was Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. At the time of his death, he was Deputy General Counsel--Contracts for Burns and Roe Enterprises, Inc. in Oradell, NJ. John played soccer at Swarthmore on the varsity team and was extremely proud of his daughter’s love for the game. There will be a memorial service at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on Pierce Street in East Greenwich at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 6 with a reception following at John’s home, 188 Windmill Dr, Wakefield, RI. John’s ashes will be interred next to his father in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, NY on Saturday, February 13 with a gathering afterwards at a location to be announced. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association, 222 Richmond Street, Providence, RI 02903-4225.