Life and Legacy
View William’s myriad of professional accomplishments
at his most recent resume
William was born in Miami Florida to John and Marion Ruff. He grew up on a tropical fruit farm with his three brothers and sister. His family relocated to Ocala, Florida in the mid-1960s, where William became active in Latin Club, a hobby that would lead to his future vocation as a plant taxonomist.
In high school, William found his calling as a musician.
As a student at Ocala High School, Bill become manager and founding member of the locally famous band, the Incidentals.
After graduation, he went on to become Road Manager for the band Flow (featuring John Winter, Chuck Newcomb, Mike Barnett, Angel Allende, Johnny Pacheco, and Don Felder of the Eagles) and co-authored the song “Chicken Farm” on their debut self-titled album in 1970.
Bill pictured at far left
“During my early childhood, my parents took me to the South Miami Community Observatory. It was open to the public every Wednesday when skies permitted. On a Wednesday night at age 6, the evenings offerings were a viewing of Saturn in all its glory, with the rings tilted perfectly to Earth and wonderfully displayed just for my viewing pleasure. I was awed and amazing by the beauty, immensity and perfection of an infinite cosmos and its creation.
I was mesmerized and became such a fanatic that on the following Christmas I received my first telescope! I became so adept that one night returning home from a meal we all were attracted to a bright heavenly object dancing on the horizon and flashing through the sequence of the colors of the rainbow. I was so proud when Mom asked me what it was and I said “Venus!” I was even prouder when the next day the Miami Herald announced the sighting by thousands of Miamians of a “UFO” that the experts stated was only Venus.
Since then, my one and only interest has been the entire universe! Stranger still, life unfolded to allow me to become a professor of Astronomy (and Botany, Ecology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Microbiology, Biology, Zoology, Planetary Science and Physics) and practically any science I chose.”
– William Ruff
He was a lover of nature and animals, and raised a family of Schipperke dogs in the 1970s and 1980s. 
William graduated with his Masters Degree in Agriculture and Tropical Botany from the University of Florida in 1985.
For many years in the ’80s and ’90s, Bill worked as a professional photographer. His beloved daughters were his favorite subjects. 
For the last twenty years of his life, William served as a Peer Specialist, Peer Specialist Trainer, Connections Facilitator, and many other roles within the National Alliance of Mental Illness and Wings Across Alabama. He was a constant advocate for the support of his peers in the mental health community, especially in Birmingham and Central Alabama.
His poetic tribute to mental health patients appears engraved at the historic Bryce Hospital Memorial.
Those Who Came Before
The anguish of broken minds surrounds and overwhelms us,
But those who suffered yesterday enlighten us and open doors once sealed.
Let us now remember their sacrifice, so that we may live better lives today,
As our children will surely do tomorrow.
William R. Ruff, Bryce Hospital Memorial, August 2009
