Fund Story
Everybody knew Burton B. Ruby as Bud. His footprint and legacy in LaPorte County are immense and also in the apparel industry, in Sinai Temple, and especially in community service, so much so that some called him Michigan City’s Ambassador-at-Large. Bud was the only son of Fay and Jack Ruby, who brought Hoosier Industries to the city in 1922. In time, the company was renamed Jaymar-Ruby at the insistence of the devoted staff, and it grew into a renown leader in the menswear industry. In its prime, Jaymar employed 500 people in three different states.
Bud was proud to say that he started at the very bottom as a “bundling boy” in the cutting room and worked his way up to president and CEO when his father yielded the reins in 1957.
In a short time, Bud catapulted the company into international acclaim with its signature Sansabelt, famously advertised on prime-time TV. By agreement, each commercial ended with the words, “Jaymar-Ruby, of Michigan City, Indiana.” Bud gave nearly seven days a week to the business, but during his rare free time, you’d find him on the golf course or piloting a company plane.
He was a decorated World War II veteran of the landing at Normandy. For many years he couldn’t talk about his war time experiences until he finally told his grandsons of the harrowing events. Each year on Veteran’s Day, one grandson posts Bud’s story of the men digging foxholes and hiding in the darkness when, in Bud’s words, “a plane came down and strafed the field for 15 or 20 minutes, killing quite a few people. I’m lying on my stomach, head in my hands scared to death. Next morning, I took my helmet off, and there was a hole in it that hadn’t been there the night before. I found the bullet buried in the ground next to me.” Many years later, Bud was decorated by the French government and invited to represent Indiana among 100 Americans, two from each state, at the 60th anniversary of D-Day.
Because of Bud’s ease with words, gentle humor, and leadership talents, diverse honors befell him. For many years he produced and emceed the Miss Indiana Pageant. He served on the boards of Unity Foundation, YMCA, and Horizon Bancorp, and he chaired the boards of Citizens Bank of Michigan City and the Chamber of Commerce. In fact, the Ruby men, father and son, were so valued in the community that the new Chamber of Commerce building was named after them, and has ever since been known as the Ruby Building. Perhaps his proudest achievement was serving as chairman of the Memorial Hospital board for many years. Among his community service recognitions were awards from the National Conference of Christians and Jews, Nixon Newspapers, his designation as a Sagamore of the Wabash, which was an honor presented by the State of Indiana, and most notably, his honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Purdue University for his lifetime of community service and philanthropy. One thing he loved to mention when encouraged was that President Reagan appointed him to a position on the United States Treasury Department Advisory Committee. So, Burton “Bud” Ruby clearly lived a most productive and generous life in this city and county and beyond, for ninety-five fully-packed years, passing quietly in 2014.
Always a raconteur, Bud liked to tell the story of when he ran away from home at the age of eleven. He had jumped on a chair that tipped back and broke a lamp, and he knew his mother would be furious, so he packed PB&J sandwiches and walked to the railroad tracks. As he munched on the sandwiches, he began to think, “this is not a good idea!” He turned and walked home to face the consequences. Lucky for us all, because beyond the honors he earned, he was a loving and beloved hero to his family. Remarkably, he was married for 72 years … but to two different women. He and his first wife blessed the world with three children, six grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren … so far.
It is that far-reaching family, five generations in this country, that the Burton B. Ruby Family Community Fund is established as part of an extraordinary legacy.
