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Obituary

Hubert 'Bud' Rutland, 55, businessman and athlete

By CRAIG BASSE and MARY JANE PARK
Published April 18, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG- Like his father, Bud Rutland sold men's ties. Like his grandfather, he ran banks.

Bud Rutland also was a onetime rodeo bareback bull-riding champion, sailed in an America's Cup regatta and competed in four Iron Man competitions: in Hawaii, Germany, Australia and Florida.

"In the second half of his life," said his sister, Nancy Rutland, "he became a world-class athlete and trained all over the world."

Hubert "Bud" Rutland III died Tuesday (April 17, 2007) at home under hospice care. He was 55. He had leukemia and meningitis, his family said.

Mr. Rutland's grandfather, Hubert Rutland Sr., built a financial empire of stores, banks and ranchland. Much of it was sold off in the mid 1980s. His father, Hubert "Bert" Rutland Jr. operated family-owned stores for 40 years.

Bud Rutland was a manager and vice president of the Hubert Rutland department store. The Central Avenue landmark bore the family name as far back at World War I.

After the breakup of his grandfather's banking empire, Mr. Rutland emerged as president and chief executive officer of the Rutland Florida Gulf Bank. His father was chairman.

"He grew up in the banking world," said Nancy Rutland. "He liked it. I think he liked it a lot. It was one of his life dreams."

Earlier this spring, Mr. Rutland's grandfather became the centerpiece for an ongoing exhibit at the St. Petersburg Museum of History.

"His empire was quite diverse and far reaching," Bud Rutland said in February, recalling his grandfather's entrepreneurial skills. Hubert Rutland Sr. died in 1988.

Born in Clearwater, Bud Rutland lived at the Rutland Ranch in Manatee County until 1953, then moved to St. Petersburg. He spent summers working on the ranch.

Last weekend, family members visited him at the ranch.

"It was a great day," said his daughter, Melissa J. Rutland. "We had target shooting. It was very joyful for him to watch. He had a great day."

Mr. Rutland attended Shorecrest Preparatory School and Lakewood High School and graduated from Northeast High School, where he played basketball and football, in the class of 1970.

After studying at Louisiana State University, he graduated from the University of Tampa with a degree in economics.

Over the years, Mr. Rutland served on the board of All Children's Hospital and the Boys Club of Pinellas County. An Eagle Scout who attained the Order of the Arrow, he was a life member of the National Eagle Scout Association and was a board member of West Central Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

He also was a board member of the American Cancer Society and a former member of Rotary, Suncoasters, Mad Dogs, St. Petersburg Yacht Club and Committee of 100.

Mr. Rutland's survivors include his wife, Dr. Joan Christie Rutland; two daughters, Melissa J. Rutland and Kristen J. Rutland; a son, Hubert "Beau" IV; two stepchildren, Lindsay Stevenson and Brittany Stevenson; his mother, Ardith Rutland; a brother, Thomas; and two sisters, Ardith Richards and Nancy Rutland.

Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Anderson-McQueen Funeral Home, 2201 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N. There will be a memorial service at 4 p.m. Thursday at the First United Methodist Church, where Mr. Rutland was a member.

The family suggests memorial contributions to the West Central Florida Council's Endowment Fund, 11046 Johnson Blvd., Seminole, 33772, to finance an Eagle Scout scholarship program Mr. Rutland established.

Information from Times files and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune was used in this obituary.

[Last modified April 18, 2007, 06:20:28]