Ova Duane Rudd was born in Marion, Ohio, in 1954. The fifth of nine siblings, Duane later moved with his family to Dayton where he attended Ruskin Elementary and Stivers High. At Stivers he earned seven varsity letters and was valedictorian of Stivers Class of 1973. He was a four year varsity starter as an outfielder in baseball and a three year starter as an offensive back and a linebacker in football. Duane was named First Team All-City in both football and baseball his senior year. Throughout his years at Stivers, Duane also participated in freshman basketball and football, and was a member of the Student Council and The National Honor Honor Society.
While gifted with athletic talent, Duane’s greatest strengths have always been his dedication, determination and discipline, as well as a relentless pursuit of goals that he has deemed most worth pursuing. Following high school, and despite being heavily recruited by major colleges across the country both for athletics and academics, Duane chose to stay relatively close to home (and close to his sweetheart, Jayne Donovan). He enrolled in Earlham College in the Fall of 1973 and shortly thereafter, decided that the right decision and most pressing goal for himself was to return to Dayton, get married, and start a family. Upon returning to Dayton, Duane married Jayne (Stivers Class of ‘75) and began a 35 year career with the U.S. Postal Service.
For most of their over 40 years of marriage, Duane and Jayne have resided in the Northmont School District, where they raised two sons, Richard (Melinda) and Timothy (Angela), both graduates of the University of Dayton School of Law. Duane coached baseball, football and basketball in Northmont-area youth leagues, earning admirationand respect that is expressed to this day by men whom he coached as children. Duane and Jayne have four grandchildren, William, Lauren, Madelyn and Nathaniel, and one of their greatest joys is being actively involved in their grandchildren’s lives. In addition to being a dedicated and selfl ess husband , father and grandfather, Duane serves as a deacon in his church, teaches a youth Sunday School class, and has participated in short-term mission work both in Sweden and India.