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The Union Leader & New Hampshire Sunday News
- 09-Jul-02

             Web EditionTuesday, Jul. 9, 2002

       News - July 9, 2002

                  Gun designer
                  Ruger dies
                  Union Leader News


                  William Batterman Ruger, known as one of America's
greatest
                  gun designers, has died at his home in Prescott, Ariz.
                  Ruger, 86, was the founder and chairman emeritus of Sturm,
                  Ruger & Co., the largest firearms manufacturer in the U.S.
The
                  company manufactures high-quality rifles, shotguns,
pistols,
                  and revolvers for a variety of law-enforcement purposes,
with
                  a New Hampshire plant in Newport, a plant in Prescott, and
                  corporate headquarters in Southport, Conn.
                  The company also formerly operated Uni-Cast, a cast
aluminum
                  plant and foundry, in Londonderry.
                  Funeral services for Ruger will be held Saturday in
Croydon on
                  the grounds of the Central Station of the Blue Mountain
Forest
                  Association.
                  Ruger, who died last Saturday, teamed with Alexander
McCormick
                  Sturm and established Sturm, Ruger & Co. in 1949. Under
                  Ruger's leadership, the company produced more types of
                  sporting firearms than any other firearms firm in the
world.
                  His first firearm was introduced in 1949, a .22-caliber
target
                  pistol that was considered the first gun of many Americans
and
                  is still one of the most popular target pistols in use.
                  "Ruger was a true firearms genius who mastered the
disciplines
                  of inventing, designing, engineering, manufacturing and
                  marketing better than anyone since Samuel Colt ," said
R.L.
                  Wilson, a firearms historian and Ruger's biographer.
                  "No one in the 20th century so clearly dominated the
field, or
                  was so skilled at articulating the unique appeal of
quality
                  firearms for legitimate uses."
                  Ruger was born June 21, 1916, in Brooklyn, N.Y. He
developed
                  his passion for guns when he received his own rifle from
his
                  father at age 12.
                  As a student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill,
                  he converted an empty room into a machine shop and in 1983
                  came up with initial designs for what eventually became a
                  light machine gun for the Army. He eventually became a
                  full-time designer and helped invent and patent dozens of
                  models of sporting firearms during the last 53 years.
                  Ruger's lifelong passions included antique firearms, 19th
                  century Western American art, and his nationally noted
antique
                  car collection of more than 30 vehicles. He also
commissioned
                  the design and construction of a classically styled sports
                  tourer automobile in 1970, called the Ruger Special, as
well
                  as a 92-foot yacht, the Titania.
                  He was known for philanthropy through charities in
communities
                  where his factories were located.
                  Family members include a son, William B. Ruger Jr., who is
the
                  current chairman of the company; a daughter, Carolyn R.
Vogul;
                  six grandchildren; and 10 great grandchildren. He was
                  predeceased by his wife, Mary Thompson Ruger, and a son,
James
                  Thompson "Tom" Ruger.
                  Calling hours will be Friday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.
at
                  the Newton-Bartlett Funeral Home, 42 Main St., Newport.
                  Funeral services will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. A
reception
                  will immediately follow the service.
                  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the
Dartmouth
                  Medical School, 1 Rope Ferry Road, Hanover, 03755; or the
                  Yavapai Regional Medical Center, 1003 Willow Creek Road,
                  Prescott, Ariz., 86301.


                        Copyright � 2002 Union Leader Corp. All rights
reserved.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++




http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Obit-
Ruger.html


July 8, 2002


Firearms Innovator Ruger Dies
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
  Filed at 8:59 p.m. ET


PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) -- William B. Ruger, founder
of Sturm, Ruger and Co. Inc., one of the largest
firearms manufacturers in the United States, has
died. He was 86.

Company officials said Ruger died Saturday at his
home. The cause of his death wasn't immediately
available. Ruger had been ill for some time.

The company, which has plants in Prescott,
Newport, N.H. and Southport, Conn., makes rifles,
shotguns, pistols and precision investment
castings used in the aerospace, automotive,
general manufacturing and golf markets.

Ruger, who was born in Brooklyn in 1916, had a
hand in the design of every firearm his company
ever produced.

He teamed with Alexander Sturm to form the company
in 1949. His first firearm for the company,
produced that year, was a .22-caliber target
pistol that is still in widespread use today.

Ruger is survived by his son William Ruger Jr.,
the company's current chairman; a daughter,
Carolyn Vogel; six grandchildren; and ten
great-grandchildren. His wife, Mary Ruger, and a
son, James Ruger, died before him.

Funeral services will be held Saturday in Croydon,
N.H.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Subject: Ruger_NY Times Obituary
Date: Tuesday, July 09, 2002 2:13 PM

William B. Ruger

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) -- William B. Ruger, founder of Sturm, Ruger and Co.
Inc., one of the largest firearms manufacturers in the United States, died
Saturday. He was 86.

The company, which has plants in Prescott, Newport, N.H. and Southport,
Conn., makes rifles, shotguns, pistols and precision investment castings
used in the aerospace, automotive, general manufacturing and golf markets.

Ruger, who was born in Brooklyn in 1916, had a hand in the design of every
firearm his company ever produced.

He teamed with Alexander Sturm to form the company in 1949. His first
firearm for the company, produced that year, was a .22-caliber target pistol
that is still in widespread use today.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


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            Author Topic:   Papa Bill.
            Dean Speir
            Administrator  #28437, posted 07-07-02 19:14

            Rumor is rife on one of the minor firearms forums that William
B.
            Ruger, Sr., passed yesterday at his home in Prescott, Arizona.
            However, I can find no obit anywhere, including The Daily
Courier of
            Prescott.
            Anyone have any hard information?


            ------------------
            . Dean Speir, Sports.Rec Community Leader
            Re: Communities not going to SBC/Yahoo! Dial;
            E-mail comments to: Cmty-Mgr@prodigy.net , cc: CEO@prodigy.net

            John Hunter
            Member  #28438, posted 07-08-02 02:16

            None of my news search engines turn up anything.
            ------------------
            Visit My Help Page
            John's Help Page


            David Berkowitz
            Member  #28439, posted 07-08-02 02:18

            If it happened late at night, it may have been too late for
Sunday
            editions. They usually go to press around midnight and I dodubt
that
            they would hold the presses for him.
            You and I would, but most papers would wait until Monday.
            Arizona Republic might have the story before Prescott.
            Tim Burke
            Member  #28442, posted 07-08-02 12:05

            I'm hearing that he died on Saturday and that someone that works
at
            the plant has confirmed it, but I have no hard sources.
            ------------------
            TB., NC
            Schmit
            Member  #28443, posted 07-08-02 12:44

            Topic on another board has people calling Ruger and confirming
the
            passing.
            Said Ruger is working on a press release.
            ------------------
            Schmit, GySgt USMC(Ret)
            NRA Life, Lodge 1201 - UOSSS
            "Si vis Pacem Para Bellum"
            Dean Speir
            Administrator  #28444, posted 07-08-02 13:17

            It's actually quite fitting that 50+ hours later there is still
an
            information black-out on this! No one in the firearms industry,
not
            even Gaston Glock) more tightly controlled their information
than
            did Wiliam B. Ruger, Sr.
            The only two in the company who were ever authorized to issue
            statements, upon pain of dismissal, were Bill Ruger himself, and
his
            long-time Corporate Counsel, Steve Sanetti.
            I liked some of his guns, disliked his arrogance, detested some
of
            his political decisions.
            In the final analysis, his Mark I/II rimfire pistols, his 10/22
            all-time #1 "fun-gun," and his Mini-14 are all classics, and no
one,
            bar none, in the small arms community knew investment casting as
did
            "Papa Bill" .he saw the hand-writing on that foundry wall
decades
            before anyone else did.
            It will be most instructive to see what happens with the
            publicly-traded Sturm, Ruger & Company now that his immense
presence
            has passed.


            ------------------
            . Dean Speir, Sports.Rec Community Leader
            Re: Communities not going to SBC/Yahoo! Dial;
            E-mail comments to: Cmty-Mgr@prodigy.net , cc: CEO@prodigy.net
            mikegunner
            Member  #28445, posted 07-08-02 13:21

            I just spoke with Larry Massimo who is my salesman as well as VP
of
            Davidsons (located in Prescott). He told me that indeed, Mr.
Ruger
            passed away Saturday AM and that there will be a service in NH
on
            Saturday July 13 and they have not announced when a service will
be
            held in Prescott AZ area.
            Mike
            ------------------
            Mikegunner
            Dealer/Shooter/Collector
            Mikegunner@prodigy.net
            Charlie Petty
            Moderator  #28447, posted 07-08-02 22:06

            NSSF in their "Bullet Points" press release dated today reports
the
            death.
            Sam A. Kersh
            Member  #28449, posted 07-09-02 11:29


              quote:

              Gun designer
              Ruger dies
              Union Leader News

              William Batterman Ruger, known as one of America's greatest
gun
              designers, has died at his home in Prescott, Ariz.
              Ruger, 86, was the founder and chairman emeritus of Sturm,
Ruger &
              Co., the largest firearms manufacturer in the U.S. The company
              manufactures high-quality rifles, shotguns, pistols, and
revolvers
              for a variety of law-enforcement purposes, with a New
Hampshire
              plant in Newport, a plant in Prescott, and corporate
headquarters
              in Southport, Conn.




            For the rest of the story
            ------------------
            Sam A. Kersh

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