Russell W. Kruse, 85; helped found auction house dealing in classic, collectible cars

Russell W. Kruse, 85, the founder of Kruse International, one of the world’s leading collector car auction firms, died Friday of complications from a stroke at Lutheran Hospital of Indiana in Fort Wayne.

In 1952, Kruse established a real estate and auction business in Auburn, Ind., with his father-in-law, Lester Boger.

During the last 55 years, the firm grew into a leading collector car auction company, selling more than 13,000 autos each year at events drawing crowds that are eager to see and bid on classic cars and everyday vehicles owned by celebrities.

The auctioned vehicles have included a 1975 Ford Escort GL that Pope John Paul II used when he was a cardinal in Poland and the 1962 Ford ambulance that carried a mortally wounded Lee Harvey Oswald after he was wounded by Jack Ruby following the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas.