Keith Rudy 1927-2025

Keith Eugene Rudy, age 98, of Dallas, Texas, passed away quietly Friday afternoon, July 4, 2025, at the Belmont Senior Living Center on Turtle Creek in Dallas.

He was born April 20, 1927, in Soldier, the third child of the late Ernest and Elfa Rudy. Keith’s father died of influenza shortly before Keith’s fifth birthday. Although she had four children to raise during the Great Depression, Elfa never remarried. As a result, Keith grew up resourceful and hard-working, as many of that generation did.

‍Keith is survived by Colleen Rudy, his loving wife of 49 years; a son, Kevin (Ann) Rudy of Cresson, Texas; a stepdaughter, Leigh (Ron) Clark of Oklahoma City, Okla.; two granddaughters, Kristen (Jim) Plohg of Dallas and Stephanie (Tony) Girolamo of Arlington, Texas; five great-grandchildren; and several cousins, nephews and nieces.

In addition to his parents, Keith was preceded in death by his first wife, Della (Zimmerman) Rudy Antkowiak Gatti; an older brother, Ernest (Betty) Rudy Jr.; an older sister, Marjorie (Orville) Hug; and a younger brother, Lyle (Ann) Rudy.

Keith joined the U.S. Navy shortly after graduating from Holton High School in 1945. He was Bugler First Class on the light cruiser U.S.S. Fargo and traveled throughout the Mediterrean and Atlantic. The war was winding down at that point, so he saw no action. Upon leaving the Navy, he enrolled at Kansas State University in the fall of 1946 as a freshman, where he soon met Della Zimmerman. They married in Russell in 1948.

Shortly thereafter, Keith enrolled in Westminster Law School in Denver, Colo., in the fall of 1949. It was a night school, so he was able to work during the day and attend classes at night. After completing law school in Denver, he went to work for Phillips Petroleum in Bartlesville, Okla. as a landman. After transferring to Amarillo, Texas, where he and his family lived for two years, he met a prominent independent oil man in Canadian, Texas. They partnered in the acquisition of leases for major oil and gas companies but also accumulated some interests of their own. This provided the basis for a comfortable life.

In 1975, he and Colleen Pitts got married and remained so for more than 49 years. They resided in Dallas and Flower Mound, Texas for a number of years. After vacationing in California several times and falling in love with the wine country and beautiful scenery, Keith and Colleen decided to move there. They spent most of the 1990s living in various residences in the Napa Valley, followed by several in the Palm Desert area. They made many great friends with whom they played tennis and sampled wine regularly.

After they got California out of their system, they moved back to Oklahoma City and then Dallas to be closer to family. Keith’s last 12 years were spent living independently (less the final two months) with Colleen in the Belmont Village Senior Living facility on Turtle Creek.

‍Keith left his body to medical science and requested that there be no memorial service. All he asked was that his family get together and celebrate what a unique individual he was. The family looks forward to doing that sometime in August.

‍Should you wish to honor Keith with a memorial donation, please consider the American Macular Degeneration Foundation (www.macular.org).

(PAID OBITUARY)