A Galesburg man who witnessed and participated in some of the most iconic moments in American history has died.
Paul E. “Gene” Rude Jr., 84, a longtime Illinois State trooper and a two-term alderman on the Galesburg City Council, died at 5:45 a.m. Monday, May 1 at Hawthorne Inn, Galesburg. He was 84.
While serving in the Air Force, Rude was assigned to Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota; then to Morocco; later to Mitchel Field, Long Island, and finally to Anacostia Naval Station, Washington, DC, with the Armed Forces Police. He served at the funeral of President John Kennedy, during the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech,” and as part of the funeral escort for Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
Rude is the author of a book titled “My Life’s Highway,” which was a look back on his years as a state trooper.
Obituary: Paul E. “Gene” Rude: July 14, 1938 – May 1, 2023
Rude was born July 14, 1938, at home in Gerlaw, Illinois. After graduating from Mt. Union High School in Iowa, Gene entered the US Air Force in June 1956 and was honorably discharged in August 1964. He went on to a 30-year career with the Illinois State Police retiring on Jan. 31, 1993. After he retired from ISP, he worked for two years for the Knox County Sheriff’s Department.
He is survived by two daughters, Cara Frakes of Galesburg and Dana Schneider of Peoria, three sisters, two brothers and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Visitation for Paul E. “Gene” Rude Jr. will be 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, May 5 at Watson Thomas Funeral Home and Crematory, Galesburg. Funeral services will follow at 1 p.m.