Nate Ruffin was a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, W. Va. He was a defensive back and co-captain of the Marshall football team in 1970, when a plane carrying team members, coaches, community leaders and others crashed on a return flight from North Carolina. Ruffin had an arm injury and was supposed to make the trip, but at the last mi...
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Nate Ruffin was a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, W. Va. He was a defensive back and co-captain of the Marshall football team in 1970, when a plane carrying team members, coaches, community leaders and others crashed on a return flight from North Carolina. Ruffin had an arm injury and was supposed to make the trip, but at the last minute was told that someone else would take his place on the plane. He helped identify bodies from the crash and notify relatives of the passengers.After graduating from Marshall, Ruffin served as manager of personnel for ACF Industries, the largest builder of railroad cars for lease in the United States. He later became the Human Resources Director at The Herald-Dispatch in Huntington, WV. He also worked for twelve years as director of personnel policy at Gannett Co. He won four president's and four chairman's rings for his accomplishments at Gannett, an award representing top performance by a department head.Ruffin joined The Freedom Forum in 1997 and served there as vice president/human resources, with responsibility for personnel policy and employee benefits. He later became vice president/community relations.He served as an adviser for the NAACP and Urban League of Baltimore, a board member of Arlington County (Va.) United Way and a deacon at First Baptist Church in Vienna, Va.Nate Ruffin died on Oct. 2, 2001 after a long illness. He was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery in Huntington along side other members of the 1970 Marshall plane crash.
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