Bill Ruddy passed away this week after a battle with cancer. He was 76 years old.
Ruddy came to Alaska in 1964 to work for the state attorney general’s office, recruited from the Federal Maritime Commission to evaluate Alaska steamship contracts.
He later joined local law firm Robertson, Monagle, Eastaugh and Annis, then in 1986, Ruddy, his wife Kathy Kolkhorst, and Jim Bradley opened Ruddy, Bradley & Kolkhorst law firm.
After the fall of the USSR, Ruddy used his knowledge of Russian language and experience in the Russian Far East to open an American law firm in Vladivostok.
He and his wife Kathy purchased the Princeton Hall in 1978 then renovated the old wooden boat. It was built by Sheldon Jackson College students, lauched just before the attack on Pearl Harbor, and seized by the U.S. Navy. After World War Two, the boat returned to Southeast Alaska and used by the Presbyterian Church to link island villages. Since restoration, the Princeton Hall is a member of the Classic Yacht Association.
Memorial services for Bill Ruddy are Thursday, at 3 p.m. at Chapel by the Lake.
Donations in his name can be made to Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Inc. and Hospice and Home Care of Juneau.
