David Joseph Ruiz

Ruiz, David J.
February 3, 1940 ? April 17, 2011 Age 71

Early Sunday morning David Ruiz passed away peacefully in his sleep with his wife by his side. He had lived with COPD for many years and gently succumbed to heart and respiratory failure while in the hospital.

In his early adult life, David struggled as a taxi driver after taking over his father’s business. He then advanced himself through education and worked many years as an electronics manufacturing engineer, also serving as Mr. Fix-it for numerous family members and friends, bringing new life to old TVs and cloning Atari games for the kids. As his health issues worsened, he retired to the couch where he took up Sudoku, mastered the Rubik’s cube, and continued to tinker with broken electronics. He also discovered the joys of stealing music off the Internet and playing Yahoo! Bridge.

Beloved husband of Yoe Osaka Ruiz who he met and married while he was in the Air Force stationed in Japan listening in on Russian radio transmissions, he was known as “Pop” to son Jay Ruiz and daughter Monica Thomas. Jay is a gifted musician who lives in Colorado with his wife Sue and her daughter. Monica is newly unmarried, a freelance poet and rampant crafter. David is also survived by Monica’s daughter Sedra Bee and his three sisters and brothers-in-law: Joanne and Peter Samplaski et. al., Kathy and John Gumbert, and Janet and David Vargas.

A gathering in celebration of his life will be held from 1-3pm Saturday, April 23, 2011 at the Urban Ecology Center, 1500 E. Park Place, Milwaukee 53211. The floor will be open to poems, prayers, remarks, and musical interludes. Refreshments will be served.

At a later date a private interment of ashes will be held on a hillside amongst the pines.

Farewell, Pop. We are glad to count you amongst our angels.