Obituaries : Robert M. Rutt; Retired Lieutenant Colonel

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Robert M. Rutt, who was born on Christmas Day, 1915, died in his Camarillo home on his 80th birthday on Monday after a lengthy illness.

Rutt worked for 21 years as a meteorologist with the Air Force and his tours of duty took him all around the world, daughter Rorie Skei said. Rutt toured many NATO installations, including those in Turkey, England, Spain, France and Greece. He was stationed in Germany from 1958 to 1963 during the height of the Cold War.

After his military career, Rutt worked as a federal employee for the Pacific Missile Range and participated in programs to test the weather by using missiles.

As a youngster growing up in the West, Rutt sampled a variety of occupations, including a job capturing and breaking mustangs, Skei said.

He attended UCLA for two years, then “joined the Army Air Corps as soon as they would let him in,” Skei said.

After retirement, Rutt spent time as a volunteer, including work with the Pleasant Valley Lions Club and the Braille Institute in Santa Barbara. Rutt was also active in the Retired Officers Assn., Skei said.

In addition to his daughter, of Thousand Oaks, Rutt is survived by his wife of 53 years, Madeline; son Robert C. Rutt of Oxnard, sister Anna Davis of Camus, Wash., and two grandchildren.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church. Memorial donations may be made to the Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurses Assn., 1996 Eastman Ave., Ventura.