Deceased October 13, 2013
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In Memory
Toward the close of last year, we received the sad news of the death of Rudy Raines. Rudy died in his sleep on Oct. 13, 2013, in West Orange, N.J. Bruce Harris ’73 attended the memorial service for Rudy, which he says “was packed and quite moving.” Even though I had not been in touch with Rudy for several years, we had been great friends at Amherst and in the New York area when Rudy was working for AT&T and I was at Columbia Law School.
During his first marriage, Rudy lived in Rahway, N.J. We saw each other often in those days. I also saw Rudy often after he married Jo-Ann. After I moved to Washington, we saw each other less frequently, but we stayed in touch, and we always looked forward to reunions when we would see and reminisce with old friends such as Bruce Harris and Steve Scheinman ’73. Rudy did not attend the last few reunions, and several of us always remarked about his absence and how we missed seeing him.
Rudy came to Amherst from New York City and majored in American studies. He went to New York Law School, began a law practice and taught at William Patterson College in New Jersey. When Rudy was at Amherst, Walt Whitman was one of his favorite poets: “I celebrate myself, and sing myself.… I am large.… I contain multitudes.” That was Rudy Raines. He was large in spirit, large in vision, large in generosity, large in laughter, large in love.
Rudy is survived by his loving wife, Jo-Ann Ryan Raines; three daughters; a son; three grandchildren; three sisters; three brothers; a host of nieces, nephews and cousins; and a multitude of friends from Amherst who will always remember him with great affection.
George Johnson ’73