We know it is kind of a crazy idea to think about, but if Scottsdale Leadership had a monument, like Mount Rushmore, for the people who founded our organization Don Ruff would be right there along with Sam Campana, Art Decabooter and Gary Shapiro.  After our great conversation with Don, we are sure he would laugh the idea off.  He is from the school of thought that if a good idea needs someone to carry it forward, he is your guy. 

 

Don was born in the small Wisconsin farming community of Bloomer which is near Chippewa Falls in the western part of the state.  Don and his older sister lost their father at an early age.  His mother was helped greatly by their extended family.  Part of the that help meant eventually moving the family from Wisconsin to San Jose, California in 1945.  Don vividly recalls the train ride west because he was surrounded by soldiers returning home from World War II.  What an iconic scene that would have been.

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In San Jose, Don excelled both in academics and sports.  Not only did he letter in both baseball and football, but Don was also a straight “A” student.  Because of that, he earned an academic scholarship to attend nearby Stanford University majoring in Chemical Engineering.  Unable to afford living in Palo Alto, he commuted the 25 miles each day from his home in San Jose.  After a year of that grind, he decided to transfer to nearby San Jose State University.  It was there that he met and married his wife of 64 years, Barbara at a social event on campus.  Don also told us he switched majors later in college, and graduated with a Business degree in 1959.

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Like everyone else in that era, Don was susceptible to the military draft.  In order to fulfill his obligation, he joined the Army National Guard while in college and served with them on and off for 4 years.  His long-term plan was to join the family business which had created a specialized catalyst used for catalytic converters used in all automobiles and many industrial processess.  In 1959, he and Barbara decided to move back to Detroit, Michigan where the company had its headquarters.  After a time with the company, he was asked to move to Evanston, Illinois outside of Chicago to run their operations in the windy city.  Like so many people before him, Don and Barbara got sick of the cold and sought warmer weather.  In a funny coincidence, a relative suggested he apply to the Valley National Bank (now J. P. Morgan Chase Bank) in Phoenix which he did.  Don got the job with the bank in 1963.  As they settled in Scottsdale, Don went through the bank’s extensive management training program.  Don thrived in the banking profession, and steadily moved up the ladder in leadership roles.  Before retiring in the year 2000, he had enjoyed a wonderful 38-year career all with the same bank that eventually became the J.P. Morgan Chase Bank that we see all over town.

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As a banker, Don truly embraced community involvement.  It was not only good for business, but he also mentioned the great satisfaction he got from helping people.  At about the same time he and Barbara adopted their two children David and Susan. Despite coaching their sports teams and being actively involved with their school projects, Don told us he was on the board of 25 organizations at various times.  If that is not enough, he was President of 13 of those entities, which is an astounding figure.  

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We just marveled at the way he described his inspiration to do all these things.  Like many other people of his wonderful generation, they can’t put their finger on any one thing propelled him to do more for the community.  Don explained to us that when he saw a need or a problem, he did everything he could to fix it.  There is no question that each of those 25 organizations, including Scottsdale Leadership of course, was the beneficiary of his devotion to service.  

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Of course, we were interested in how Scottsdale Leadership came about.  Don told us that he, and that 2 of the 3 illustrious founders that we mentioned above, Sam Campana, and Gary Shapiro, had all gone through Valley Leadership in the early 1980’s.  Soon thereafter, they realized that Scottsdale needed to improve its bench of potential leaders. So, they went to the Scottsdale Chamber and Scottsdale Mayor Herb Drinkwater to pitch the idea.   They both gave the idea a huge thumbs up.  Scottsdale Leadership’s first class was formed in 1986 and it graduated in 1987.  Little did they know that their modest idea would be going strong some 40 years, and 1400 graduates later.  Don likes to keep up with leadership organizations around the country, and even mentioned an idea that some groups are offering a separate leadership program for people under the age of 34.

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In the final 5 years of his tenure with the bank, Don was rewarded for all his efforts in community relations by promoting him to Executive Officer, a job that involved teaching and encouraging bank employees to get more involved in community affairs.  This was a dream job for Don.  He retired from the bank in the year 2000 at age 65.  That really did not slow him down much.  He is still active in the community to this day.  Along with Scottsdale Leadership, Don told us the organization that he was most proud of helping to form was the Scottsdale History Hall of Fame in the early 1990’s.  Having a hand in putting together both of these incredible organizations just blows your mind when you think about it.  

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Unfortunately, Don’s wife and life partner Barbara passed away in 2023.  She put up a brave fight, but suffered through a 10-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.  The good news is that he is still surrounded by family because his daughter Susan who is now living back at home.  Don knows how valuable that is to have family looking after you, because he was Barbara’s caregiver during those tough years of her battling Parkinson’s disease at home.  We were so impressed by Don’s commitment to his health.  He told us that he walks as much as he can, averaging about 7000 steps per day on average.  Don also loves to read every day.  He will turn 90 years young in March of 2026.

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Reflecting on Don’s story, it is clear to us that he understood what you give to others sustains you as you age. Maybe that is an old-fashioned notion, but we sure hope not. Whether it is the fact that he was the first resident of D.C. Ranch in 1997 or that he had a great family summer house in Munds Park near Flagstaff, Don knew the power of family and friends to make their lives richer.  If you add in his banking career where he helped so many Scottsdale institutions and individuals gain a foothold in our community, and those 25 community-based organizations he helped flourish, he might just be richest man in town.  

 

We all know that Scottsdale Leadership teaches us how to give back to our community.  But instinctively knowing that helping others pays dividends in your own life, that is something harder to teach.  We prefer to just sit back and listen to people like Don Ruff who have been there and done that.  We would all do well to learn from his great generation of Scottsdale’s leaders.  It has been a privilege for us to share Don’s story with you.