Arthur Rutledge
December 19, 1942 ~ November 16, 2019
Marietta Southern Cremations & Funerals
Dr. Arthur Latimer Rutledge, 76, of Marietta, passed away during the bright fall afternoon of Saturday, November 16th, due to complications surrounding his six-month battle against acute leukemia. He died in the presence of his sons and after receiving visits and calls from dear family and friends throughout the day.
Dr. Rutledge, also known as “Buddy”, was born on December 19, 1942, in Cartersville, Georgia. He was the son of the late Reverend William Robert Rutledge and the late Helen Elizabeth (Latimer) Rutledge.
Dr. Rutledge dedicated his life to serving others while teaching and practicing his faith. Dr. Rutledge grew up the son of a Baptist preacher. He and his mother moved around Georgia and southeast Tennessee as his father attended seminary and preached at different churches. On Lookout Mountain, as a teenager, Dr. Rutledge accepted Christ and was baptized by his father. During his father’s ministry, Dr. Rutledge attended various schools, and he and his mother worked a variety jobs, such as harvesting and arranging baskets of peaches for sale.
In the mid-50’s, the Rutledge family moved to Rome, Georgia, where Dr. Rutledge’s father helped start Garden Lakes Baptist Church. There Dr. Rutledge met his bride, Kay Ellen Cox, and graduated from West Rome High School. He went on to earn his Bachelor degree in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1967. While attending Georgia Tech, Dr. Rutledge worked for Georgia Power repairing transformers. He was also a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps.
After graduating, Dr. Rutledge married Kay Ellen Cox and joined the United States Air Force. He served at Air Force bases in Big Spring, San Antonio, and Del Rio, Texas, as an officer and engineer. He earned his Master of Science in Engineering Administration from St. Mary’s University in 1974 and achieved the rank of Captain in the Air Force. While in Texas, Dr. and Mrs. Rutledge had two sons, Robert Christian and Brandon Ty.
After finishing his service for the Air Force in the 70’s, Dr. Rutledge returned to Georgia and began working for Ford Motor Company. Due to the gas crisis in the automobile industry, Dr. Rutledge transitioned to employment with Lockheed in Marietta, Georgia, assisting in the manufacture of Air Force cargo planes such as the C-130 Hercules. Dr. and Mrs. Rutledge had their third son, Jonathan William, in Marietta.
During his employment, Dr. Rutledge earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Management from Georgia State University in 1986. His wife Kay Ellen obtained her Ph.D. at the same time.
Dr. Rutledge taught at Emory University, Georgia Tech, Middle Tennessee State University, and Mercer University. He also consulted with different manufacturing businesses and published scholarly works with colleagues on subjects such as quality management. At Mercer, Dr. Rutledge obtained tenure at the Stetson College of Business. He continued to teach at Mercer until his passing.
Of utmost importance to Dr. Rutledge was his faith in Jesus. He believed in helping those least fortunate with true compassion and tangible care. He was a member of Eastside Baptist Church from 1975 until his passing. While his boys were at Eastside, Dr. Rutledge helped with Royal Ambassadors and Mrs. Rutledge taught Sunday school. After his boys grew up, Dr. Rutledge began teaching a Sunday school class for adults. There he taught scripture, worshipped, counseled and consoled, and prayed earnestly with fellow members for more than 25 years.
In his passing, Dr. Rutledge joins his late wife, Dr. Kay Ellen Cox Rutledge. He leaves his three sons and their spouses: Robert and Vita Maria (Salvemini), Brandon and Jessica (Cochrane), and Jonathan and Amber (Phillips). He also leaves his highly cherished grandchildren (from oldest to youngest): Lane, Joe, Emily, Levi, Anthony, Henry, Greer, Ty, and Vittoria. He also leaves Mrs. Betty McNiff, a friend of the family over several decades who offered sympathy, care, and support after she and Dr. Rutledge lost their spouses to terminal illnesses.
A memorial service will be observed on Saturday, November 23, 2019, at 10:30 AM at Eastside Baptist Church on Lower Roswell Road in Marietta, Georgia, with Dr. Randy Cheek officiating, and eulogies from family and friends. The family will receive friends from 10 o’clock until the service at the church, with a reception following. There will be no graveside service. In lieu of flowers, donations of blood may be given to the American Red Cross, or contributions may be made to the Multiple System Atrophy Coalition (www.multiplesystematrophy.org).
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I had know about the passing of Kay Ellen but wasn’t aware that Buddy had also passed away until I heard about it a few days ago. We were friends in our youth in Rome and while attending Ga. Tech. We hunted, fished, camped, hiked, double-dated–all those things young people do. We also were active in the Baptist Church boys’ organization Royal Ambassadors. It’s interesting that in many ways our lives paralleled although our paths diverged–we both grew up in church, were in RA’s and Sunday School and youth groups, grew up to become leaders in both as years went by. And we lost track of each other in our moving around the country in adult years. I’ll always remember Buddy as one of the individuals in my life as a young man who was a cut above everyone else I knew. He’s there with Kay Ellen now enjoying those streets of gold!