John 'Oldman' Rugh

'Oldman', aka John Rugh was an active member and Moderator on the old Morris Communications (American Angler, Fly Tyer and Saltwater Fly Fishing) magazines message board before it went defunct last summer. I just received an email from his son letting me know that John passed away this past week. John lived an hour or so west of Branson, Mo. and was as big into fly tying and fly fishing as much as one could possibly be.

John told me last summer his Dr's thought he was in early stages of Parkinson and he thought he also had a light stroke. At that point his symptoms were so bad, he was having having trouble tying flies.

More than few members on here I originally met on the Morris site. John was one of the few I had the privilege to meet in person. The most cordial of gentlemen and a wealth of fly fishing information. John will surely be missed.

Bass_Bug
Sent you a PM but not sure it reached you as odd things happened when I hit the send button.
John was, indeed, the finest of gentleman.
Coughlin

Bass Bug

Very Sad to hear about John. When I first signed up over at the old board John was the first to welcome me and we all had some pretty lively discussions. Gonna miss his posts. Condolences to his family

Fatman

oldman signed up for my first swap, Bucktail Streamers, over on the old board. he sent some "blondes" (a wonderful, sparse tie you can make in all sorts of colors), and when he posted what he had sent, the repartee was marvellous! i took them to the Yucatan and they fit right in on all that sand in the sun...

Bass_bug, perhaps you can let the family know that we will miss him. his friendliness and helpfulness really shone in cyberspace.

real nice person. fare thee well john.

I am so sorry to hear of Oldman's passing. As has already been stated, he had a wealth of knowledge; he probably forgot more about fly fishing than I will ever know. His passion for the sport of fly fishing was obvious and he loved to share his insights and experiences in a humble, gentle way. I will always remember when I joined the other Board, he was the first to welcome me. He also answered my posts with info that was instructive and encouraging. I think he has made us all better fly fishers. He will be missed.