Name Residence: George C. Rucker – Osterville,MA Date of Death: 03/05/2007 Notice OSTERVILLE – George C. Rucker, 87, died peacefully at home, on March 5, 2007. He was the husband of Anele Gates Rucker for nearly 60 years. Born in New Britain, Conn., he completed his secondary education in Hartford and graduated from The Citadel, Military College of South Carolina, in 1941. In January 1942, Lt. Rucker was called to active duty in World War II, and served with artillery, tank destroyer, and infantry units for two and one-half years. He later volunteered for parachute infantry training at Fort Benning, Ga., and in 1944, he was assigned to the famous 101st Airborne Division and stationed at the Airborne Headquarters in southwest England. As a combat paratrooper and platoon leader, Lt. Rucker fought in ”The Battle of the Bulge” at Bastogne, Belgium, with the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment. For his action at Bastogne, he received a Purple Heart and the 101st Presidential Unit Citation. He also received the European Theater of Operations Medal, the Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe Campaign battle stars, the Combat Parachute Badge, the Combat Infantry Badge, and the Belgian Croix de Guerre with palm streamers. Lt. Rucker was honorably discharged in November 1945. Before moving to Cape Cod in 1989, Mr. Rucker retired from Lederle Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Pearl River, N.Y., in 1987, after 31 years of service as an analytical chemist in the Research and Development Library. Mr. Rucker was a member of the 101st Airborne Division Association, the American Chemical Society, and The Citadel Alumni Association; and he was a life member of the Disabled American Veterans Association. Mr. Rucker is survived by his wife, Anele; two daughters, Christine Loftin of Nantucket and Gail Kraemer of Springfield, Va.; a son, George Rucker of Pocasset; six grandchildren; and great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. He was the husband of Isabella Simmons Rucker, who died in 1945. Friends are invited to visiting hours on Thursday, March 8, from 4 to 7 p.m., at John-Lawrence Funeral Home, 3778 Falmouth Road (Route 28), Marstons Mills. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, March 9, at 11 a.m., at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Osterville. Burial with military honors at the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne, will follow at 12:45 p.m. The family requests no flowers, but memorial donations may be made to the Screaming Eagle Support Fund, P.O. Box 929, Ft. Campbell, KY 42223, or to Disabled American Veterans, P.O. Box 14301, Cincinnati, Ohio 45250.
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