STRUTHERS Husband slain during theft was good, friendly, wife says

Police have released updated information about the man they seek in the death of a 71-year-old.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
STRUTHERS -- Louise Ruble had expected it to be an ordinary day.
She and her husband, John K. Ruble Sr., stopped at a dollar store in town Friday before driving to the recycling center behind the Boardman fire station on South Avenue. From there, they had planned to go swimming at Astre Total Fitness on Boardman-Poland Road.
They didn't make it.
"There was nobody else there when we dropped off the recycling," Louise said from her home Saturday afternoon.
"We had the last four bottles we were taking in. He took the first two, and I took the last ones. I don't know what he saw, but when I turned around, I saw him being dragged by the car and heard him yelling."
Boardman Township police say what John saw was someone trying to steal his wife's purse from the front seat of their car at about 1:30 p.m. When he tried to stop the theft, he was dragged along by the car. The driver backed up the vehicle, crushing John's legs under the tires.
The 71-year-old man died from his injuries on the way to the hospital. Police are investigating the death as a homicide.
Louise said she didn't see the other car enter the lot and doesn't know why John tried to stop the car. Her purse was later recovered in Mill Creek Park.
Her birthday
Instead of spending Saturday, her 69th birthday, with her husband, Louise was making funeral arrangements for the man she married in 1958 and with whom she reared two sons. The shock of the episode still hasn't hit her, she said.
She spent much of the past two days hearing from family and friends, most of whom are still referring to John in the present tense, as she did Saturday evening.
"He is friendly and good," she said. "He gets acquainted with everyone and is very friendly with everybody. He looks for the good in everyone."
Her son John, who lives in the area, had been in and out of her home checking on her. Her son Phillip is expected to arrive from his Florida home sometime today.
Her husband always took care of anyone who needed it, she added. He attended East and North high schools but never graduated; instead, he joined the service to bring in money to help support his mother.
"He wanted to help take care of her," she said.
Remembering
The couple met at a dance. She said his personality was warm and he was always kind.
He had a passion for bowling.
"He even taught me to bowl," she said. "But he was left-handed, and so he would tell me what to do, and then try to show me."
Louise would have to repeat everything John showed her backward, since she is right-handed.
"Even when he hangs clothes, he does it backwards," she said. "I tell him I can always tell which ones he hangs."
Description
Township police have released updated information about the man they're looking for in Ruble's death.
Police said Saturday that they seek a white male in his early 20s with a slender build; very short, dark hair; and a pointed nose. He wore a white T-shirt.
The car he drove is described as a late 1980s or early 1990s small-sized navy-blue Cadillac with a squared rear. Police said the vehicle would have damage to the rear and driver side. It was last seen traveling north on South Avenue at Mathews Road.
Police are asking that witnesses who left the area before police arrived contact the Boardman Police Department at (330) 726-4144 and ask for Sgt. Nick Levinsky or Sgt. Steve Riwniak.
slshaulis@vindy.com