Russell Lawrence “Rusty” Wolfe passed to his heavenly reward on September 5, 2017 after a long battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife, Debbie, daughters Shelby & Marisa, younger brother Steve, younger sister Emma, Mom & “Dad”, Virginia & Jeff White, along with hundreds of friends, family, co-workers and others who were all privileged to know him and share a part of his journey through life.

A party to honor Rusty will be held Sunday, October 29 at Pelican Beach Clubhouse in Satellite Beach. Drop in anytime between 1p.m. – 5p.m. to joyfully remember & share his life.

Rusty was born October 27, 1956 in Annapolis, Maryland, the eldest son of Olin Neal & Virginia Lee Wolfe.

He attended Sabal Elementary School while living in Eau Gallie, Florida in the 1960’s and graduated in 1975 from Severna Park High School in Severna Park, Maryland.

He enlisted in the United States Army in 1975 to pursue what would be a lifetime interest in electronics. During this time, he also volunteered as part of the Military Honor Guard at Fort Meade, rendering final respects to fallen comrades in arms on many occasions. It is especially fitting, therefore, that shortly after he passed away, he would also be covered with the Stars & Stripes for his final journey.

He joined Collins Radio (later to become Rockwell Collins Avionics) in 1978 and started work at its original Melbourne plant on John Rodes Blvd. He was a valued and innovative team member for 39 years until his passing.

He was naturally adept at diagnosing and repairing anything of a technical nature. This extended to automobiles, audio and video equipment and eventually to computers and software.

During the first few years at Collins, when money was tight, he was buying a house and also facing a daily round-trip commute of 55 plus miles. It’s often said that “necessity is the mother of invention” so he bought a Datsun 1200 for $200 from a scrap yard and took the rear wheels donated by his brother Steve from his Datsun Roadster to complete the car.

As these wheels were bigger than the front wheels it gave the car the appearance of driving downhill, which no doubt caused much merriment with his co-workers. In truth, it was an awful looking car, however, Rusty had the last laugh, as the money he saved on transportation was now being invested in his new house!

Rusty loved playing the guitar. He had developed an interest in playing while still in high school and, although naturally left-handed, he taught himself to play right-handed. He soon started to play in bands as a lead guitarist and singer and performed regularly at local venues and company sponsored events.

He married Debbie on April 13, 1991 at Satellite Beach Methodist Church and entertained his family & friends by playing guitar with his band at the Wedding Reception afterwards. The high point of the reception would be dancing with his new bride to Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight”.

Rusty & Debbie welcomed the birth of their first daughter, Shelby in March 1993, followed by Marisa in June 1995. He was a dedicated father to both girls and, together with Debbie, they worked hard to ensure they were well provided and cared for.

He spent his whole life trying to improve himself – while working at Collins Avionics he dedicated himself to earning a degree, spending all of his spare time in online classes. This culminated in a Bachelor’s of Information Technology & Programming with a 4.0 GPA in July of 2007 and earned him a promotion to Electrical Engineer. His example instilled the worth of a good education in his daughters who both went on to earn Bachelor’s Degrees of their own.

He never lost his interest in automobiles. In 1987 he bought a new Buick Grand National, one of the popular (& rare) muscle cars of the ’80’s. After driving it for about 25000 miles stored it in his garage. Several years ago he started a long and painstaking restoration of the car. Everything he did was typical of his attention to detail. Nothing was overlooked that would have detracted from completing a show-quality product. It was a source of great pride to him that he was able to drive it before he passed away.

He was always generous in volunteering his time as a soccer coach and weekends would often find him driving all over the state with his daughters to support and encourage their teams. He would also videotape many of the games and compose video clips to give to the other girls and their parents. This was much appreciated as evidenced by comments on sympathy cards that were recently received.

It is abundantly clear that Rusty’s innate goodness affected everyone who came in contact with him. His former supervisor’s announcement of his passing reads in part, “Russ was a dedicated colleague, teammate and special friend to many of us.  He will be sorely missed”, and speaks volumes of the high regard in which he was held at work and elsewhere.

These few meager words can never adequately convey the life of a person that was full of love for his family, an abundant interest in life and a generous nature to all. It will fall to those who knew him well, or even for a fleeting moment, to add their own memories to complete the rich tapestry of Rusty’s life.