Point Reyes Light - December 24, 2003
West Marin Pharmacy's former owner Ruder dies
By Larken Bradley
Former Point Reyes Station pharmacist Allan Ruder, who advertised his drugstore with a t-shirt boasting the slogan, "I Get My Drugs at West Marin Pharmacy," died Thursday, Dec. 4, in his Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, home of complications from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He was 61.
While Mr. Ruder was the local druggist for just a six-year stint 20 years ago, his forceful character and cynical sense of humor remain lodged in the memories of many West Marin residents: some friends, others foes.
Always something to say
"When he was good, he was very good; when he was bad, he was very bad," reflected his daughter, Sivi Ruder. Visitors to his apothecary were loath to predict which temper they might encounter on a given day.
A member of a small group of men who enjoyed weekly Saturday breakfasts together at the old Station House Cafe, then situated across the street the from its present location, Mr. Ruder thrived on poking fun at two groups of people he saw infiltrating West Marin in the early 1980s. He branded hippies he believed were reluctant to bathe, "the brown-ankle set," reported longtime friend, John Vertigan of Petaluma.
A counterpoint group was dubbed "the trust-fund crowd," well-off transplants intent on "saving the world while watching out for their own necks" Vertigan jabbed.
"Allan had a very refined a--hole radar system," his crony blurted. "He always had something to say about everything."
Like him or not, Mr. Ruder did well at his job, enjoyed knowing his customers names in what he called "a dinosaur" of a quaint, rural pharmacy, and by all accounts had folks doubled over with his biting sense of humor.
Six feet tall, bearded and dark-haired, he was bald by the time he arrived in West Marin.
In 1979 he was elected president of the Point Reyes Business Association. He also served on the Shoreline District School Board.
Peter Allan Ruder was born on Sept. 22, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His father was a ragman who bought fabric scraps from Pennsylvania textile companies, which he sorted by color and hauled to New York City for resale.
West Marin and back again
"My folks had no money," Mr. Ruder told The Light in a 1980 interview. Encouraged by his father to use his head instead of his hands to earn a living, young Mr. Ruder’s teenage work experience as a drugstore delivery boy inspired his career choice. A scholarship from the Pennsylvania State Senate allowed him to enroll at Temple University, where he earned degrees in pharmacology.
As a kid he swam like a shark and shot basketball hoops. Raised in an Orthodox Jewish family, he honored Shabbat by spending Saturdays at the movies, often taking in a double bill. Throughout his life, when it came to movie, and movie-star data and trivia, "he was almost a savant," his daughter said.
In 1977 he and his first wife, Bonnie Ruder, moved from Southern California to West Marin after buying the pharmacy. In 1983 Mr. Ruder moved to Washington state, and a decade later back to Pennsylvania.
From then until his death he lived in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania.
His son, Josh Ruder, died in a drowning accident in Washington state in 1991.
He is survived by his wife, Kathy Link Ruder; stepsons, Thomas and Philip, all of Coopersburg, Pennsylvania; daughter, Sivi Ruder of Sebastopol; and his brother, Robert Ruder of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
A West Marin memorial service will be held in Spring 2004.
The family has suggested that any memorial contributions be made to The Dance Palace, c/o The Josh Ruder Scholarship Fund, PO Box 217, Point Reyes Station 94956.