Richard R. Rutkowski

Richard R. Rutkowski, 83, of Goshen, died early Saturday morning, November 30, 2008, at The Maples at Waterford Crossing.  He had been in failing health the past ten months. He was born of September 4, 1925, in South Bend, to Vincent Stephen and Helen (Harmacinski) Rutkowski.  He married Doris M. Odor on June 21, 1947, in Saint Mathews’s Cathedral, South Bend.  She preceded him in death on May 26, 1996. A member of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Goshen, Mr. Rutkowski retired in 1983 as vice president of manufacturing for South Bend Toy Company where he had worked his entire life. He is survived by two daughters, Mary Kay (Dale) beer of Elkhart, and Lisa Swafford of Austin, Texas; a son, Dr. Richard (Jen) Rutkowski of Granger, Indiana; nine grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. He was the last surviving and youngest of ten siblings. A memorial mass will follow at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the Goshen Salvation Army.