Ruff

Dr. Curtis C. Ruff, 91, of Rowan Road in Wexford, formerly of Butler, died at 4:47 a.m. Thursday at Sunnyview Home.

Born Oct. 18, 1915, in Slippery Rock, he was the son of Dr. Clay Ruff and Anna Cleaver.

Dr. Ruff attended public school in Slippery Rock and pursued higher education at Grove City College. After graduation, he entered medical school at the University of Pennsylvania. He interned at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh from 1941 to 1942.

Then with World War II, he entered the Army in December 1942 and served as a captain in the Medical Corps at a German prisoner-of-war camp in Jackson, Miss., until the end of the war.

In October 1946, he went to the Mayo Clinic on a fellowship, and while there, he received a master's degree in surgery from the University of Minnesota. His thesis was pre-operative radiation therapy in the treatment of cancer of the rectum, which was later published in a medical journal.

After five years in Rochester, he returned to Butler to be near his aging parents.

Dr. Ruff was a general surgeon at Butler Memorial Hospital for 35 years and served as chief of staff during the 1970s.

Throughout his life, he enjoyed sailing, photography, gardening and woodworking. Upon retirement, he was able to spend time building furniture and enjoying Maine.

He was a member of the Hampton Presbyterian Church in Allison Park, the Butler County Medical Society and the American College of Surgeons and a former member of the Butler Rotary Club.

Surviving are his wife, Ilagene Ruff of Wexford; three sons, Jim, Ken and John Ruff; two daughters, Milann Ruff Daugherty and Marcia Ruff; a stepdaughter, Leann Burkholder; five grandchildren, and a great-grandchild.

<B>RUFF </B>— Private visitation and services for Dr. Curtis C. Ruff, who died Thursday, May 17, 2007, were Saturday at the <B>Thompson-Miller Funeral Home</B> with the Rev. Dave Maitland, pastor of First Baptist Church, officiating.In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the First Baptist Church Christian School, 221 W. New Castle Street, Butler, PA 16001.Information and a private guest book are available at www.thompson-miller.com.