On top of serving in World War II as a Marine Corps medic, over the past 100 years Dr. Richard Rucoba was Lansing’s only write-in trustee, won more than 200 medals in the Senior Olympic Games and distributed countless pairs of eyeglasses to people in need.
So for Lansing Mayor Brian Hardy, it felt like a no brainer to celebrate Rucoba, known affectionately as “Doc,” with a birthday party at his Villa Court home.
“He’s a very humble man,” Hardy said during Thursday morning’s gathering. “He doesn’t like big parties and he’s not a bragger, but the accomplishments he’s done over the last 100 years of his life … that needed to be recognized today.”
Rucoba was all smiles as he joked and ate cake with family, friends and neighbors, it only marked the beginning of a long weekend of celebration, his younger brother Roger said. The family planned head to Chicago later Thursday for a Lake Michigan boat tour.
“He’s throwing his own party, and he has invited 190 people,” said 87-year-old Roger Rucoba, who flew in for the festivities from California. “Those are the people that have come to know him and love him.”
Over the past century, Rucoba has met countless people through serving others, including in the military, as an optometrist and volunteering abroad.
According to a “Someone Lansing should know” article written for a village publication after Rucoba turned 92, the East Chicago, Indiana, native enlisted in the Marines after graduating high school in 1943.
He served for three years in the Pacific, sharing his time between the Philippines and the Solomon Islands and, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, is one of about 4,300 surviving World War II veterans in Illinois.
Fellow veteran Ralph Leona, 83, said he met Rucoba as both became active members of the Lions club and American Legion after Rucoba moved to Lansing in 1955. He said Rucoba doesn’t talk much about his war service but remains focused on the present.
“He’s all over everywhere,” Leona said. “Wherever you need him, whenever something’s going, he tries to be there.”
Remaining active and giving back not only makes Rucoba a valued community member, but continues to give the 100-year-old veteran’s life purpose.
Rucoba used his decades of experience as an optometrist to set up a mobile eye exam clinic in Mexico, and as part of the Lions Club distributes tens of thousands of eye glasses to those in need.
“There’s about three eye doctors from the U.S. and seven eye doctors from Mexico. Between the 10 of us, we examine about 1,000 people a day.” Rucoba said.
He also lights up when talking about how he was the first and only candidate to join the Village Board through a write-in campaign. He was on the board for four years and voted to acquire the Lansing Municipal Airport, a decision of which he remains proud.
“Everybody said, ‘how are you going to make money on an airport?’ Because in those days, all the planes were tied down on the landing strip,” Rucoba recalled.
He said it was the mayor at the time’s idea to build hangars and rent them out to those who owned the planes, aiding the village for decades to come.
At 100, Rucoba remains a competitive athlete, golfing multiple times per week. While he played basketball and football and ran track in high school, he’s earned most of his awards through senior athletic events, including the National Senior Games, also known as the National Senior Olympics, held every two years. His favorite event is the 400-meter dash, for which he broke an age category record at age 80.
As more and more people hear about Rucoba’s accomplishments over time, Mayor Hardy said he hopes his story will inspire others to pave their own way while giving back.
“We need to recognize heroes — people who are important in our lives,” Hardy said. “I think if you don’t do that, you don’t build your community and you don’t inspire others to do more.”
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
