William “Beryl” Rucker, age 89 of Helena

William “Beryl” Rucker passed away on July 21, 2022, with family by his side. Beryl was born in Fort Benton MT on February 5^th, 1933 to Alton and Anna Rucker.  He was raised on a farm 12 miles east of Geraldine MT where he was the 5^th of 6 children.  He was the last living member of his immediate family, and at the age of 89, he lived longer than any of his siblings or either of his parents.

Beryl attended school in Geraldine MT through his sophomore year of high school at which point his oldest brother Buddy had the foresight to see that Beryl had the potential to go to college on a basketball scholarship. In order to do that, he needed to be in a bigger school with a better team.  So, Beryl moved to Fort Benton and lived with his Grandma Staley for his last two years of high school.  At that time, he met his future wife, Maxine McKeever.  While in Fort Benton, Beryl was an integral part of the Longhorn’s 1950 State Championship team and their second-place squad in 1951.  In 1951, the team was ravaged by a sudden flu outbreak that hit them after their second win at the State Tournament, otherwise they could well have won back-to-back Championships.  Must’ve been something in the water!

After graduating from Fort Benton, Beryl (along with two of his Longhorn teammates) attended Gonzaga University on a basketball scholarship. Between his freshman and sophomore years, he and Maxine were married in Fort Benton at the Methodist Church.  After Beryl’s second year at Gonzaga, he realized that they were never going to let him shoot from the end of the bench, so he decided it was time to get on with life.  He and Maxine moved to Missoula, Beryl joined the Army ROTC and graduated from Montana State University (which was renamed the University of Montana in 1965) with a degree in business. While in Missoula, their first son, Randy, was born.  Upon graduating from the U of M, Beryl fulfilled his time commitment for the Army in Georgia, Louisiana and, for a couple years, in the DMZ in Korea.  While in Korea, his farming background was put to good use.  When growing up, he had learned how to assemble Quonset huts, and one of his responsibilities while in the DMZ was overseeing the assembly of these multi-purpose buildings.  Many of them no doubt still stand today.

After his time in the Army, he and his family moved back to Missoula. There, he went to work at Wright Lumber and was introduced to the “World of Retail.”  He started out selling kitchen cabinets, counter tops, and appliances.  During their second stint in Missoula, their son Wylie was born.   In late 1959, Beryl loaded up the family and moved to Helena to work for Charlton Appliance and TV on the 400 Block of N. Last Chance Gulch.  In 1961, he and Maxine bought the business and became their own bosses.  Beryl took care of the inventory, sales, and delivery and Maxine did the books and kept track of their sons.

In 1964, they took a huge leap and moved the business to 1010 Dearborn in Helena, where they added furniture and carpet and became a full-service home furnishings store.  Through the years, they eliminated some departments and eventually became known as Ruckers Furniture.  In 1995, they sold Ruckers Furniture to their son, Wylie.

One of Beryl’s greatest joys was watching his sons and grandchildren participate in sports.  In his lifetime, he traveled countless miles to watch any and all of them compete.

During retirement he and Maxine spent time in Hawaii, in Sun City West AZ, at their cabin on Canyon Ferry Lake, and enjoyed living on the fairway of “Jaws” on Bill Roberts Golf Course for almost 40 years. For many years, Beryl was able to golf with the same group of guys, both in Helena and Sun City West.

At a very young age, Beryl learned the value of hard work.  This was the way he was taught by his dad on their dryland farm, and this is what he taught his sons and all the people who worked for him over the years.  Working for Beryl was an experience that anyone who ever worked for him will tell you was educational in the ways of work and life.  Regardless of what your job was, Beryl expected you to show up on time, do your job correctly after the first time you were told how to do it, remember how to do your job, and not to waste time.  In return, you received good pay at a good place to work.  Many people worked for Beryl and Maxine while they went to Carroll College and the “Vo-Tech.”  Among them, you will now find lawyers, doctors, accountants, business owners and entrepreneurs, most of whom have done very well in “Life After Beryl.”

Beryl is survived by his son Randy (Sharie) of Bozeman and his son Wylie (Kathy) of Helena.  Grandchildren include Lauren (Tad), Genna (Cody), Gabe (Chez), Scotty (Chelsey) and Calvin (Kacee), as well as great grandchildren, Tanner, Gavin, Logan, Hudson, Elle, Hayes, Benton, Ackley, Jasmine, Owen, Kelly, and Roland.

Beryl was preceded in death by his wife of 69 years, Maxine, his father and mother, Alton and Anna, his sisters, Phyllis, Velma and Shirley, and his brothers, Buddy and Robert.

The family offers a special heartfelt “Thanks” to the thoughtful and caring staff at Touchmark and also to the sensitive and knowledgeable nurses and staff of St. Peters Hospice.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Montana Military Museum, PO Box 125, Fort Harrison, MT, 59636, in Beryl’s name.

The combined Celebration of Life for Beryl and Maxine will be Saturday, August 20th, at 2PM, at Anderson Stevenson Wike Funeral Home in Helena.

Service Schedule

Celebration of Life

2 p.m.

Saturday August 20, 2022

Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home

3750 N. Montana Ave

Helena, Montana 59602

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Reception

Following the Memorial Service

Saturday August 20, 2022

Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home

3750 N. Montana Ave.

Helenea, Montana 59602

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Burial

11 a,m.

Monday August 22, 2022

Montana State Veterans Cemetery

Heroes Road

Fort Harrison, Montana 59635

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