AGNEW — Nathan Ruffcorn, who died in an early Thursday morning car crash, was remembered by loved ones as an easygoing man with a warm smile and kind, protective spirit, one who loved strongly, embraced life and always held his arms open to family and friends.
Family and close friends will today remember, pray for and bless the 29-year-old Port Angeles man and Jamestown S’Klallam tribe member who died when his eastbound Honda Accord veered off Old Olympic High-way after 2 a.m. Thursday, overturned and came to rest on its roof.
Rescue personnel extricated him from the wreckage, which was found during a routine patrol by Sheriff’s Sgt. John Hollis about 150 feet north of Old Olympic Highway in a farm field near the Agnew Grocery and Feed store at Matson Road.
“From all indications, it did not appear that the accident had occurred very long before it was discovered,” said Chief Deputy Ron Cameron with the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
Ruffcorn was pronounced dead at the scene of severe head injuries at about 3:15 a.m., said Clallam County Fire District No. 3 paramedics who tried to revive him.
“We think he fell asleep at the wheel,” said his mother and Jamestown S’Klallam tribal member, Linda Ruffcorn, a retired 7 Cedars Casino finance officer who was the casino’s first employee.
She reflected on her son’s life at her Old Olympic Highway home Thursday afternoon, where Ruffcorn had been headed at the time of the crash.
She fondly remembered the son endeared with the name of “Ruffie” by his friends and “Nay-Nay” to his family.
“There was no alcohol on his breath,” a tearful Linda Ruffcorn said she was informed by authorities.
“He had really pulled his life together. So this is confounding to me, why God would take him from me now.”
Family and friends will conduct a blessing ceremony with a pray song at the site of the crash on Old Olympic Highway in his memory.
The ceremony, in which flowers will be laid at the scene, is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today.
It will be led by Pat John, a member of the Ahousaht First Nation on Vancouver Island.
The Ruffcorn family will host the ceremony.
A celebration of Ruffcorn’s life has been scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday at the Lighthouse Christian Center, 304 View Crest Ave., in Port Angeles with a reception at the church to follow.
Jacob Oppelt of Port Angeles had just hired Ruffcorn as a bartender to work at his new “gastropub” business, the Next Door at 113 W. First St. in Port Angeles.
“He was going to be an integral part of our staff,” Oppelt said.
“He was going to be one of the bartenders. He’s been helping out throughout the project.”
Oppelt, who was friends with Ruffcorn since they both graduated from Port Angeles High School, remembers his buddy as “one of those people everybody likes . . . He was a good-hearted person, always there to help, funny, outgoing — a good-spirited person, always in a good mood.”
Ruffcorn graduated from Port Angeles High in 2000. His mother said he went on to work and create stained glass pieces.
He also held a strong passion for golf and disc golf.
“He was very instrumental in getting disc golf at Lincoln Park,” his mother recalled.
Linda Ruffcorn said her son was always singing in the shower and in the sunshine. He was always there to lift her spirits, she said.
“He was noted for a genuine smile, his good nature, and he was always willing to lend a hand to friends,” she said.
Ruffcorn had worked as a server at 7 Cedars. The casino’s manager, Fred Napoli, said he was always generous with the tips he made.
“He was truly a person concerned for other people,” Napoli said.
Ruffcorn was born Nov. 18, 1981, to his mother and father, Jim Ruffcorn, in Tacoma. They moved to Agnew in 1994.
In addition to his parents, Ruffcorn is survived by Jim Ruffcorn’s wife, Debbie, and their children, Brett and Lindsey, all of Auburn; and his brother, Brayton.
Brayton Ruffcorn said his older brother was proud of his little brother’s acceptance as a student at Stanford University.
Although he was more than six years his junior, Brayton Ruffcorn said his brother always included him in his activities as he was growing up.
“He was always proud of me, and he told me that,” he said before he was overcome with grief.
Ruffcorn’s cousin, Ginnie Possinger, also shed tears with Linda Ruffcorn at her home Thursday, where a stream of friends and family dropped by to share their condolences.
“He was always easygoing and always had open arms, like a big brother,” Possinger said.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Unit is investigating the wreck.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.