Jonas Karl Rudy

Greenville, SC

Jonas Karl Rudy was born in Lewistown, PA, on September 9, 1924.

His parents were Jonas Ulmont Rudy and Esther Elizabeth Shafer Rudy.

Karl grew up on the banks of the Susquehanna River in Dauphin, PA, where he attended Dauphin public schools. He graduated from the eleventh grade as valedictorian of his class. The next year he and his best friend hitchhiked 9 miles daily from Dauphin to Harrisburg, PA, so they could graduate from the twelfth grade at William Penn High. After graduation, he enlisted as a Cadet in the Naval Air Corps. As WWII wound down, he transferred as a First Lieutenant from the Naval Air Corps to the Army Transportation Corps.

Karl is survived by his wife Margaret Eloise Lyndon Rudy, one brother Jack Ulmont Rudy, and one sister Theodosia Rudy Pae, both of Dauphin, PA.

He is also survived by two daughters and their husbands, Katharine (Kathy) Rudy Bergmann (Kent) and Margaret (Peggy) Rudy Taylor (Randy Duncan), two grandchildren, Catherine Traynham Haynes (Mike) and David Rudy Traynham, and five great grandchildren, Mason and Leah Haynes and Anna, Samuel, and Owen Traynham.

He was predeceased by his parents and a younger brother David Irvin Rudy.

Karl and Eloise first met in 1943 at the University of North Carolina where she was a summer school student and he was a US Naval Air Corps Cadet. After the summer they went their separate ways, but two years later they reconnected when she was working at the Commerce Department in Washington, DC, and he was stationed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, NY. They married on December 1, 1945, at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. At the end of WWII, they moved to Atlanta where she taught physics at Agnes Scott College while he attended Georgia Institute of Technology under the GI Bill. He graduated in 1950 with a BS degree in Textile Engineering. After graduation they moved to Greenville, SC, and later to Simpsonville, SC, where they lived for more than 60 years.

For 50 years Karl was a member of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church (USA) in Mauldin, SC, where he served as a deacon, eight terms as an elder, a trustee, and a Sunday school teacher. He participated in all areas of the church's mission, serving on and chairing many committees. He was active in civic affairs as a member and two-term president of the Simpsonville Chamber of Commerce, as founder and president of the Golden Strip Managers Club, and as a member of the Fountain Inn Rotary Club. He was a long-term active member of the National Textile Association. He was deeply interested in public affairs on local, state, national, and international levels. Never once in his entire adult life did he fail to vote in an election.

Karl was employed by Dan River, Inc. for 25 years and served at different times as superintendent of the Simpsonville, Fountain Inn, and Beattie Plants and as district manager of four plants in Greenville and Pickens Counties. He received many commendations for his work at Dan River, especially in the conservation of waste materials in the development of new fabrics. After retiring from Dan River, for the last eight years of his career, he was dean of the Materials Management Department and founding director of the Textile Institute at Greenville Technical College. During these same years he was Yarn Editor for an international trade magazine, America's Textiles International. He won two prestigious awards from the Georgia Magazine Association for his articles on the yarn market. He was recognized internationally as an authority on yarn manufacturing, often offering advice or assistance to textile companies in Europe, Asia, and South America. After his retirement he and his wife owned two small businesses: Cottage Weavers, Inc. where they made and sold fine hand-woven items, and MathPlus Inc. where they sold original instructional mathematics materials. His experience in business and manufacturing contributed to the successful operation of the businesses.

Karl had numerous interests and hobbies, many of which he passed on to his children and grandchildren. He loved his garden where he propagated and grew a wide variety of azaleas, every one of which he could name. He lovingly cared for animals, especially cats, dogs, fish, and birds. The Rudys sometimes had a dog but always had at least one cat. He had bird feeders in every place he lived and could name every kind of bird that visited them. His properties were always designated animal sanctuaries where all kinds of animals were welcomed. He enjoyed hand weaving and wood carving. He was widely known for the beautiful miniature eighteenth century Christmas village that he assembled each year in his home. The village contained hundreds of his hand carved figures and handmade structures, as well as objects that he and Eloise collected in their travels at home and abroad. He treasured objects that he received as gifts from friends and family. The village carried on a tradition in the Rudy family that went back many generations to his Swiss ancestors. As tradition dictated, for many years the Rudys had an annual drop-in on the Sunday before Christmas for friends and neighbors to view the village and enjoy traditional Christmas treats.

Karl was a great storyteller. At Kathy's request, in 2006 he wrote a number of humorous stories about characters and events from his childhood in Dauphin, his time as a naval air cadet, and his life as a mill superintendent. He assembled them in a small book, Tales My Father Told. The stories are greatly treasured by his family who thought they should never be lost.

Karl was a Yankee by birth but a Southern Gentleman by choice. He was stationed in the South while serving in the Navy and knew that after the war he would live in the South. He loved everything about South Carolina except when one of the football teams played Georgia Tech.

Karl was a gentle soul who will be remembered for his friendliness, his sense of humor, and his deep love for his family and friends. He was a wonderful father and husband. People used to ask Eloise if she knew lucky she was to have a husband like Karl. She did know. As a man of great faith, integrity, generosity, and sense of justice, he set an example for his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, students, and employees. He never turned down a request for help from a friend. He will be greatly missed by his friends and family who loved him so much.

A celebration of Karl’s life will be on Wednesday, June 17, 2015, at 2:00 p.m. at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 739 N. Main St, Mauldin SC.

The family will receive friends at 1:00 p.m. prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church Building Fund.

Condolences may be expressed at mackeymortuary.com

The Mackey Mortuary