Jack Rudowsky's Obituary
Jack Rudowsky was born on March 22, 1931 in Newark, NJ to Harry and Belle Rudowsky. He passed away on Sunday, May 3, 2026 at the age of 95. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and proud veteran of the US Army. He loved his family, working with people, driving, and baseball!
Jack played baseball in high school and always dreamed of being a professional baseball player. His favorite team was the Brooklyn Dodgers until they moved to California. In the summer of 1949, he received offers to tryout for the Philadelphia Philly’s, Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Browns. The St. Louis Browns offered him a contract to play class D ball for the River Bandits.
A few months later, Jack was drafted into the Army during the Korean War. He served for two years in the Army as a medic and played catcher on the Army baseball team. Upon return, he married his first wife, Shirley Adler. Jack was asked to join the Baltimore Orioles baseball team but declined the offer to stay close to his wife who was expecting their first child.
Jack and Shirley had three daughters, who sadly all passed away from an incurable genetic disease called Dysautonomia, a disease that attacks the central nervous system. The girls, Beth, Ronnie, and Susan passed away at ages between infancy and 23 years of age.
After nine years of working for his dad, Jack worked as a life insurance salesman for Metropolitan Life for 36 years. In 1988, Jack and Shirley moved to Florida and bought a house in Spring Hill. Shirley passed away in 2000 from an aneurism.
Jack continued to work in the insurance industry and then got his security license. He became the head of security at the Continental Airlines Reservations Center at Tampa Airport. There he ran into an old friend, Jerry Aarons, that he had not seen in many years. Jack and Jerry picked up their friendship where they left off and became very close. Jerry and his wife Isabel introduced him to a lovely lady who would become his next wife, Rochelle Spencer.
They hit it off right away, with Jack being the gregarious one who always seemed to be the center of attention with all his stories and corny jokes. They were married on October 26, 2003 at the Sheraton Suites Hotel in Tampa. Jack’s sister, Arlene Oberst, walked with him at the wedding. She became very close to Rochelle and was closer than any true sister could have been until her death in 2021. Rochelle’s son, Harry Spencer, walked her down the aisle after emerging from a glass elevator in the atrium of the hotel. Her five children and nine grandchildren all participated in the wedding.
Jack became active with the Jewish War Veterans, and Jack served for a time as Commander of the JWV Post 373. After Continental closed the reservations center, Jack worked as a security guard at all of the sports and concert venues in town, including Tropicana Field, Raymond James Stadium, the Amphitheater, and then Amalie Arena.
During a Tampa Lightning game, he was honored for his service during the Korean war. The entire 250-person staff at Amalie Arena were called for a special surprise meeting to honor Jack with a brand-new St Louis Browns game jersey, complete with his name and number on the back, to replace the jersey he had turned in many years prior. They also threw a party for him on his 90th birthday and a retirement party when he finally decided to stop working last year, at 94.
Jack is survived by his wife, Rochelle, to whom he was married for over 22 years. He also leaves behind Rochelle’s five children: Michelle Rahoui, of Covington, LA, Harry Spencer (wife Kay) of Weston, CT, Sharon Fibich (husband Michael) of Lake Charles, LA, Bonnie Kirby Goldberg (partner Gary Tilson) of Treasure Island, FL, and Susan Irarrazabal (partner Rob Becker) of Brandon, FL.
Jack leaves behind nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren: Jacob Spencer (wife Kelly) and great-grandson, Grayson, of Alexandria, VA; Rachel Dvortsyn (husband Jake) and great-granddaughter Laura Grace of West Caldwell, NJ; Zachary Spencer of Atlanta, GA; Michael Fibich III of New York, NY; Sarah Fibich of New Orleans, LA; Mitchell Kirby (wife Becca) and great-grandsons, William and Jack of Chicago, IL; Samantha Kirby McKenna (husband Andy) of Atlanta, GA; Christopher Irarrazabal of Las Vegas, NV; and Tiffany Philippus (husband Ardell) and great-grandchildren, Ozias, Fisher, Bella, Timothy, and Sophia of High Springs, FL
There will be a funeral service to honor Jack's life on Monday, May 11th, at 10am, at Sunset Memory Gardens, 11005 N US Hwy 301, Thonotosassa, FL 33592.
Those who are unable to attend the service are welcome to join via zoom: Mon 5/11/2026 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9172850217?pwd=TmVkTEc5dysyNWpqK2hkbUxXbVZmdz09&omn=89586570818
Following the funeral service, Jack will be laid to rest at Florida National Cemetery, 6502 SW 102nd Avenue, Bushnell, FL 33513 at 1:30pm.
In lieu of flowers, you may wish to make a memorial contribution to the Jewish War Veterans at https://JWV.org.
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