Lawrence "Larry" Harold Ruder

It is with great sadness that we share that Lawrence Harold “Larry” Ruder, 83, of Baltimore Ohio, passed away peacefully with his children by his side on Sunday April 30th,  2023 at OSU Hospice after nearly 6 years of battling cancer. He was born in Columbus, Ohio and graduated class of ‘59 from West High School.  He is preceded in death by his wife Lois Ruder, his brother Paul Ruder, and his parents Margaret and Harold Ruder. He is survived by first wife and mother of his children; Nancy Schaffhausen, daughter Judith (Jeremy) Mitchell of Columbus, Ohio, Son Brian (Kristin) Ruder of Castle Pines, Colorado, Step sons; Jody Root, Beau Smith, Dallas Smith, and Preston Smith. Grandchildren; Seann (Katie) Di Bari of Worthington, Ohio, Jessica Di Bari (Jacob Moore) of Columbus, Ohio, Joshua Di Bari of Columbus, Ohio, Nathan (Lindsey) Di Bari of Columbus, Ohio, Joseph Mitchell (Isabella Iaccino) of Romeoville, Illinois, Matt (Jene) Harrison of Castle Rock, Colorado, Brandon Harrison of Castle Pines, Colorado, AJ Ruder of Castle Pines, Colorado, and Meghan Ruder of Castle Pines, Colorado. Great Grandchildren; Dexter, Nicholas, Daphne, Lukas, Eloise, Cohen, and Adley. Special friends; Ruth Bell-Wicks and Mike Grant. Larry was a wonderful uncle and cousin to many and a friend to EVERYONE he met. He was a member of the Ohio National Guard and had a successful career in telecommunications. Larry was a down to earth human being and enjoyed the simple things in life. Fishing was at the top of his list of pastimes from the time he was a small child. Larry enjoyed bowling, golfing, walking (at a very fast pace) and of course smoking a cigar and chatting with his friends and family.  Larry was always out and about - having a meal with friends, playing the slots for some extra fun money, competing in 5k/10k/20k races, hanging out with grandkids for a great meal, engaging in conversations while sharing beers with folks at either the American Legion, Eagles, Moose, or VFW. He loved to get together with his MANCATION group for tall tales, low stakes poker, beverages and cigars. His great grandchildren were the joy of his life and over the last few months enjoyed many, many fun filled moments with them.  Larry was a devoted animal lover. His recent relocation to Columbus left him very worried about his four feline fur babies. Larry reached out to Colony Cats, a non profit, that he had worked with in the past. They worked tirelessly to humanely capture each of his buddies.  He had such a sense of relief and gratitude towards Colony Cats for finding a farm that took Mindy, Mork, Princess, and Shadow, allowing them to stay together!  He wanted to make sure all who wanted to celebrate his life were comfortable. He wanted everyone to just be themselves and have a good time. He did not want a bunch of flowers that would die. He hoped that folks would consider making a donation to Colony Cats or to Pelotonia in lieu of flowers. Larry had planned to see his daughter cross the finish line one more time and had signed up as a first aid tent  volunteer on ride day to see this.  Please consider contributing to one of these organizations in memory of Larry.

https://colonycats.org/donate.html  or  https://www.pelotonia.org/profile/JM0549

Family will receive friends Friday May 12th from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at COTNER FUNERAL HOME, 7369 E. Main St., Reynoldsburg, where the funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 13, with officiant Charles Wilson. Burial at Union Grove Cemetery. A celebration of Larry’s Life will be hosted at the Mitchell’s residence in the afternoon of Saturday May 13th.

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