Leo Albert Rurup, who died July 3 at age 67, was born well after his predicted due date, immediately establishing his indifference toward punctuality.
He preferred old-time radio shows to contemporary programs. He was a ham-radio operator but lacked a home computer.
Rurup’s habitual belatedness may have been a response to the promptitude required during his 26-year career with the Colorado Air National Guard. Among the awards earned by his unit was a commendation for being under budget and completing the work before the deadline.
Rurup’s National Guard unit also famously was assigned to combat duty in Korea in 1968, shortly after the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea captured the Navy ship USS Pueblo.
The Pueblo incident caused an international crisis. Claiming the USS Pueblo trespassed within the 50-nautical-mile territory claimed by Korea – the international standard is 12 nautical miles from land – the North Korean military seized the ship. One sailor was killed, and the rest of the crew was taken hostage for 11 months before being released. The USS Pueblo remains in the custody of North Korea, where it is a tourist attraction.
Throughout Rurup’s National Guard career and his subsequent vocation as a computer-systems analyst, his friends and relatives knew to distinguish chronological time from Leo time.
In a variation of the custom of postdating a check, they routinely provided Rurup with adjusted schedules for timely events. The ruse didn’t always work.
“Why was it, Dad, that if we told you we would have a family dinner an hour earlier than it actually was, we were still concerned (whether) you would show up before the dinner was cold?” his son Jason asked wryly at Rurup’s memorial Saturday.
Jason Rurup also called the memorial’s timing, nearly three weeks after his father’s death, an “appropriate” reference to Leo Rurup’s expeditiousness.
Rurup’s clients learned that he compensated for his tardiness.
“He always, always came through for us, often apologizing profusely while working away after hours to fix what was, otherwise, a pretty insurmountable problem,” client Ron King said.
Perhaps Rurup’s chronic tardiness, coupled with his buoyant optimism, extended his life. Diagnosed with at least two forms of advanced sarcomas, he lived a year longer than doctors predicted and continued working until a few weeks before he died.
“He kept showing up even in the darkest days of his cancer treatment,” King said. “He was a sweetheart of a guy.”
Survivors include wife Kathryn Dieterich-Rurup of Aurora; sons Darin Rurup and Jason Rurup, both of Aurora; daughter Kirsten Lassa of Silverthorne; brothers Doug Rurup of Laporte, Minn., Howard Rurup of Wilton, Wis., Randy Rurup of Madison, Wis., and Mark Rurup of Winona, Wis.; sisters Charmaine Reid of Henderson, Nev., Kristy Jo Koka of New Lisbon, Wis., and Dawn Rurup of Mauston, Wis.; three grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
Staff writer Claire Martin can be reached at 303-820-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com.
