RICHMOND, VA – William “Bill” Rudy, currently of Richmond, Va., formerly from Ohio and Florida, has passed away at the age of 87. He died peacefully, surrounded by family, on July 13, 2016.
Bill is survived by his bride of 60, Joanna (nee Mettie); four children, Linda Carlson (Ron), Laura Follmer (Marc), Mark (Mia) and Lisa Harrison (Eric); and eight grandchildren, Emma Follmer, Dominic Rudy, Sophia Harrison, Vincenzo Rudy, Elinor Follmer, Maxwell Follmer, Marco Rudy and Samuel Harrison.
Bill was born in Toledo, Ohio, on June 13, 1929, to the union of Mark and Ruey Rudy, and raised and reared through the teeth of the Great Depression. Mark was a musician and found work with DuPont, and Ruey was trained as a nurse.
In 1936, Bill’s younger sister, Melinda (Lolly) Lyons (deceased), was born, and she too took to music and became an accomplished piano player.
A pivotal moment in Bill’s life was when he received a trumpet for his 10th birthday. One of the highlights of his teenage years was hearing his hero, Louis Armstrong, play in downtown Toledo.
Bill’s treasured Bach Strat trumpet is still being played by granddaughter Sophia Harrison.
Bill was graduated from DeVilbiss High School in 1947 and enrolled in the University of Toledo, where he studied music and education.
Upon graduation, Bill enlisted and served in the United States Army. Utilizing his skills as a musician, he landed a gig, one of thousands in his long life, touring the county playing military bases with fellow soldiers/musicians. Upon receiving his honorable discharge, Bill started teaching school in Toledo. He met and courted a fellow teacher, Joanna Mettie, and the two were married on Aug. 18, 1956, with 400 guests as witnesses.
As the years passed, Bill and Joanna taught at various schools and produced four children. After Linda and Laurie were born, Bill lost his father, Mark. His only son was born soon after and became his grandfather’s namesake. Lisa arrived two years later and completed the family.
Bill and his family packed up in the late 1960s and moved his family to Chester Township, a leafy, sleepy suburb of Cleveland. The family laid down deep roots on the close-knit street when they lived and fast friends were made by Bill, Joanna and the kids.
Bill shifted gears from the classroom to a role as a guidance counselor and progressed from the junior high into the senior high school, eventually retiring from West Geauga High School in 1983.
Throughout his adult life, Bill taught private music lessons and was active in various bands and combos, playing parties, weddings and musicals. Bill performed both onstage, in the orchestra pits, and acted as musical director for countless community theatre shows throughout the Cleveland area. He worked extensively with the Geauga Lyric Theatre Guild.
Bill and Joanna shared their love of the arts with their children, who all become involved in music, theater, or dance.
Bill led his family in another relocation in the early 1970s, settling into Chardon, where he and Joanna parlayed their love of the arts into a music and dance center, known for years as The Village Studio. With much sweat equity, Bill and Joanna expanded the business, purchasing and converting a century home into a center for the arts.
Over the years, hundreds of young artists took various lessons from Bill and the talented group of teaching musicians and dance instructors they assembled, and instilling their love of music, theatre and dance into both their own children and a generation of Hilltoppers as well.
Over time, the studio was passed down to his daughter Lisa, then others as they maintained Geauga County’s best known music shop.
A testament to the foundation Bill and Joanna laid in their business is that the Village Music Shop continues to thrive to this day as Geauga Music Center. Forty years since its inception, and it still carries the hollowed telephone number of 286-8481, the number dialed for those seeking cultural enrichment since 1973.
As the years passed, the harsh winters of Chardon, the Snow Capital of Ohio, took their toll. Bill and Joanna took their talents, experience and energy to the Sunshine State. They helped introduce music and theatre to the senior set, and both remained active as performers, writers and directors well into their seventh decade of life.
They were fortunate to be able to travel extensively and spent significant time in Europe, benefiting from their daughter Laurie and her family living in London for three years.
Bill basked in his pride over the accomplishments of his children. College graduates all; they have thrived in their various careers, which include the arts, theatre, education and the law.
He witnessed his eight grandchildren being born and growing into gracious young men and women, and was thrilled when his granddaughter Sophie recently chose a career in music education.
Bill led a long, soulful existence and lived the chromatic scale of dreams and adventures. He leaves behind his co-conductor, Joanna, and has been assured by the members of his chorus that the show will go on!
Break a leg, Bill.