William D. Rutt, Jr.

William (Bill) Daniel Rutt, Jr., 84, of Tenafly, NJ, formerly of River Edge, NJ and Harrisburg, PA, passed away peacefully on October 17, 2022. Bill was born August 16,1938 to Elsie Randall Rutt and William Daniel Rutt, Sr. in Harrisburg, PA. He was the devoted partner of Janet (Jan) Marion Carpenter for more than thirty years and husband to Marlene Neff Rutt for sixteen years. He was the father of Lori Marlene Rutt and Marcy Leigh Rutt, and older brother of Laurence (Larry) Randall Rutt. Bill grew up in Harrisburg, PA and earned a degree in Business Administration from The Pennsylvania State University in 1960. At Penn State, he was a proud member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, where he enjoyed jitterbugging with Marlene and playing Wales Tails at social events,and was also first chair trombone in the Penn State Blue Band from his freshman year on. He did his Coast Guard Reserves training in Cape May, NJ just after college. Bill began his career working in sales merchandising at Heinz Foods. He then accepted an opportunity at Meg’s Macaroni Company, where he was one of the first employees in their newly-established sales forecasting department. He next worked for Innkeepers Supply Company, a division of Holiday Inn, where he earned several sales awards, and then ultimately went out on his own as a manufacturers' rep, selling all types of furnishings to various hotel and motel properties in the PA, NJ and NY area. Bill lived in Harrisburg, PA until the mid-1970s when he moved to NJ, where he lived primarily in River Edge. Bill had several passions in life: golf, wine and classical music - and he was extremely knowledgeable about all three of them. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was a member of Colonial Country Club in Harrisburg and was very proud to have won a local golf tournament with a friend one year. He and Jan very much enjoyed extended trips to Europe, particularly France, in the 1980s to enjoy the food, and especially the wine! The two of them were also avid classical music enthusiasts and attended concerts, particularly the Mostly Mozart series, at Lincoln Center on a regular basis for many years. With an outgoing personality to match his sales career, Bill was fun-loving and enjoyed people. He always had an old joke, song lyrics, funny saying or twist on words up his sleeve to lighten the mood. Bill is survived by his two daughters Lori Rutt (and husband Alvaro Serrano) and Marcy Rutt (and partner Travis Maynard), as well as his former spouse Marlene Rutt, his younger brother Laurence (Larry) Rutt (and wife Barbara) and his nephew Christopher Rutt (and wife Anne). Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Elsie and Bill Rutt, Sr., and his longtime partner, Janet (Jan) Carpenter. Interment took place at Brookside Cemetery, Englewood, NJ on November 21, 2022. Donations in memory of Bill may be made to Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, Penn State University or Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Memories and condolences may be shared at https://www.barrettleberfuneralhome.com/obituaries/.

William D. Rutt, Jr.

August 16, 1938 - October 17, 2022