Mario F. Ruffino

Mario Francis Ruffino passed away peacefully on July 13th, 2021, at Sentara Hospice Care in Hampton, VA. He was born on February, 15th, 1929 in Brooklyn, NY, just as the great depression was about to begin. At around ten years old he and his family of two brothers and a sister moved to several cities in northern NJ finally settling in East Rutherford where he stayed until 1964 when he moved to Milford Maine. While in NJ he learned the trade of machinist and toolmaker eventually putting those skills to use as a gunsmith where he opened his first gun shop in the 50’s. He became well known and accomplished at his trade at an early age. Through his career he became internationally known as a custom gunsmith with clients across the US, Europe, and Africa. His work has been featured in Many US and African Magazines. In 1964 he moved to Milford Maine and became an agricultural engineering researcher and instructor at the University of Maine Orono, as well as a volunteer firefighter. His second passion was law enforcement. During most of his time in Maine he was a reserve Deputy Sheriff and a reserve State trooper. He worked on many designs that are still in use today. He always maintained his passion for being a gunsmith and had his own shop where he worked after hours and weekends. He was an avid outdoorsman where he hunted, fished, camped, and rode snowmobiles with his son and friends. After meeting his wife to be, Raffelina (Rae Finnegan) in Maine they moved to Hampton, Virginia and got married in 1981. He again opened a gun shop first in Newport News then eventually a larger one on Mercury Blvd in Hampton, which he ran for about 15 years before going into semi-retirement. He loved to tell stories about his escapades as a reserve State Trooper. In fact he loved to tell stories about his life and the jokes never stopped. One story that comes to mind is that about age eight he used to ride on the back of a horse drawn carriage delivering blocks of ice to apartments in the neighborhood. The horse got going a little fast and they hit a bump and he was thrown off and got a significant head injury. It made headline news and brought up discussions of child labor laws. As a result NYC passed the first seat belt law requiring a safety strap for children riding on delivery carriages. He and his wife loved to entertain and being the amazing Italian cook his wife is there was no shortage of friends and family coming by for a meal. He was probably happiest when friends and family were around sharing good food, good wine, and good music. He played the organ, guitar, and accordion for his friends at many gatherings. He had many “adopted sons and daughters” over the years that came to the numerous social gatherings at Casa Ruffino. His wife, Raffelina remains in Hampton. He had one son, Jeffery Ruffino of Norfolk, VA and two stepsons, Angelo Magliulo (Myrna) of North Tonawanda, NY and Domenic (Terri) of Brielle, NJ; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren that he loved very much. He was preceded in death by his brother, Richard Ruffino, who formerly ran the missing persons unit of the Bergen County, NJ Sheriff’s Department; his sister, Mary Jane, a homemaker; his brother, Robert, a retired Sr Master Sgt USAF and also a highly accomplished photographer. The family received friends from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Monday, July 19, 2021 at the Mausoleum Chapel in Parklawn Memorial Park, 2551 N. Armistead Ave., Hampton, VA 23666. Burial with Military Honors will take place on Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 11:00 AM at Albert G Horton, Jr., Memorial Veterans Cemetery, 5310 Milners Rd., Suffolk VA 23434. He was a loving father, husband, and friend and will be dearly missed by all; he made us all better people by having touched our lives.