Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Like Rudy, I have roots in Wythe County and a passion for the Virginia Tech Hokies and I suspect that is what helped me land my first job with the Hickory office of Deloitte and Touche, where Rudy was the managing partner in 1993. Rudy's charm and down home demeanor sold me on beginning my career in Hickory over opportunities in Washington DC and my hometown of Norfolk VA. I actually called Rudy and declined the offer of employment. However, after hanging up the phone and thinking about our conversation, Rudy's personality was too big to turn down so I called him back within 15 minutes to accept the job. He said with a laugh, "well, I haven't given it to anyone else yet so it's yours." Rudy made an important first impression on me in my professional career and helped sow the foundation of my future success.
Everything written in his obituary is true to the person I came to know in the short time that I was privileged to work with Rudy in Hickory. Other than a chance meeting with Rudy at a Hokies football game in Charlotte in 2007, I have not spoken with Rudy since I left Hickory in 1994. Yet, I find myself deeply saddened, as if I have lost a close friend. I guess he just had that kind of positive effect on those he encountered in life. What a special quality.
Rudy lived the Virginia Tech motto of "Ut Prosim" (That I May Serve); we have lost a good Hokie!
Please accept my sincerest condolences during this difficult time for your family.
Roger Dean
Virginia Tech Alum - 1993
