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Joseph Ruminski is pictured with his son Joe Ruminski, daughter-in-law Kathy and granddaughter Samantha.

PASSAGES

Each day the newsroom selects one obituary and seeks to learn more about the life of a person who has lived and worked in Maine. We look for a person who has made a mark on the community or the person's family and friends in lasting ways.

CASCO — Joseph Ruminski had an eye for architecture and a knack for spotting an out-of-place brick.

"He'd look at a brick building, and if there was a brick that was wrong he'd always find it. He'd say, 'See, that one's off,' and I'd look and look and never see it," said his wife, Cheryl Ruminski.

Mr. Ruminski died Monday at age 68.

Admiring architecture was just one of his loves that came from his years as a bricklayer.

His wife said he did a number of jobs around Portland, including the sidewalks around One City Center. She said he also helped with masonry projects at Maine Medical Center, Mercy Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House. His final project was working on the new Cumberland County Jail.

"He was an incredible mason," said his son, Joe Ruminski, who remembers his father helping him lay out a concrete pad and porch in his backyard the weekend after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Together, they scraped the date into the concrete, he said.

When Mr. Ruminski retired from bricklaying, he worked at the University of Southern Maine, as a custodian at Russell Hall on the Gorham campus. His wife said he was fascinated by the sets the students built for performances there, and often took photos to bring home so he could analyze the work they did.

"He was very interested in architecture," his wife said. "No matter where we'd go, he'd stop and look at the craftsmanship."

That included their annual trips to Ireland. Mr. Ruminski and his wife traveled to County Donegal and County Cork to track down their family roots.

While he found his grandmother's hometown, his wife said, he never found family members on his side. She said they were able to reconnect with some cousins on her side of the family during their trips.

The Ruminskis met in 1970, when one of her friends set them up on a blind date for her birthday.

"I thought he was very nice looking, interesting and fun. And as we matured together, he became more fun and more interesting. We were really close," his wife said.

Mr. Ruminski enjoyed spending time with his family and was very proud of his grandchildren, Samantha and Tyler.

"He'd always dote on his grandchildren," his son said.

His wife said she will always remember the look on her husband's face when he saw his first grandchild, and the way he'd "light up like no tomorrow" when they called him "Grandpa."

His granddaughter said she spent a lot of time with him when she was a child.

"I looked up to (him) very much," she said. "I learned unconditional love from him; it seemed I could never do wrong, in his eyes."

After Mr. Ruminski retired in July from USM, the university awarded him with a heritage rocking chair, his wife said.

She said the chair has a plaque with his name, honoring him for his 10 years of service to USM, and includes a family tree chart. She said it has a place to write in the original owner and space for additional family members as the chair is passed down through generations.

"He thought that was great," his wife said. "He was really proud of it."

Staff Writer Emma Bouthillette can be contacted at 791-6325 or at:

ebouthillette@pressherald.com