Charles Louis Ruoff, 96, died peacefully on December 28th at home at the Concord Park Senior

Living in Concord, MA. Before moving to that residence to be closer to his adult children, Charles

lived in Williston Park for more than sixty years.

He was one of six children born to Bernard and Louise Ruoff. He grew up in Glendale Queens and

attended public schools. He took classes at St. John’s University before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force.

He served his country as a radar specialist, fine tuning targeting systems on bombers during the Korean

War. He retired with the rank of Airman First Class.

Charles had a passion for flying small planes. In 1959 he was flying some friends from Florida to New

York City when his Cessna lost power and went into a rapid descent over a remote part of South

Carolina. He maneuvered past dangerous electric lines, slowed the plane down over a cornfield,

sheared off the wings between two trees, and landed it in a dry swamp bed. All four of them walked

away with barely a scratch. In telling this story, as he often did, he would attribute the miraculous

landing to his grandmother who prayed for his safety as she worked her rosary beads. The postscript

to this story is that he had previously popped the question to the beautiful Catherine Lyanne Jordan,

and was waiting for an answer. With his flying hobby finished, she agreed to marry him. They were

married for more than sixty-three years, until Catherine predeceased him in December 2022.

After his military service, Charles worked in the aerospace industry. The highlight of his career was

working on the lunar lander. Later, when making war planes became the mission of his employer, he

became a lobsterman. He turned an old wooden tugboat into a lobster boat; then he built lobster pots

and weaved their nets. He spent eight content years lobstering on the Long Island Sound. After he

left fishing, he ran a wholesale business to transport and sell seafood from other coastal areas to fish

markets and restaurants on Long Island.

Charles was a builder and an innovator. He built a three-story extension onto his house using only

hand tools. On many occasions, he solved a problem by designing and making a device or tool. He

enjoyed singing and playing the piano. He sang in the choir of St Aidan’s Catholic Church for many

years. His interest in healthy eating was notable for how early he made changes in his diet that later

became widely recommended. Beginning in the late 1970s, he minimized sugar and opted for

organically grown food. In later years, he fasted regularly.

Charles and Catherine welcomed six children. He took great delight in spending time with his children

and grandchildren. His six children survive him: Colette, Nancy, Laura, Bernadette, Louise, and Carl.

Eight grandchildren also survive him: Emily, Noah, Heidi, Charlotte, Conrad, Katie, Aidan, and Eli.

They will all miss him dearly.

In addition to his late wife, he was preceded in death by his brothers, Fred and Bernard, and his sisters,

Florence and Virginia. He is survived by his younger sister, Madeline.

A funeral mass will be celebrated at St Aidan’s Catholic Church in Williston Park at 10:00 am on

Friday, January 2nd. A wake will be held at Weigand Brothers Funeral Home in Williston Park from

4:00 to 8:00 pm on Thursday, January 1st

.