THE Buckeye Division
Jim Ruisinger
James L. Ruisinger, age 68, of Upper Arlington, passed away December 11, 2023. Preceded in death by parents, William (Bill) and Lenore Ruisinger. Jim was an alumnus of Upper Arlington High School, class of 1973 and The Ohio State University. In sales most of his adult life, Jim was a long-time store Manager for Hobbyland Stores and most recently the General Manager of Efficient Electric Corp. Jim was a model railroad enthusiast, a life member and past officer of Division 6 of the National Model Railroad Association’s Mid Central Region. Jim was also an avid barbershop singer. He was lead singer in the quartet, Quite By Accident and an active member of the Singing Buckeyes Chorus. Jim leaves behind a brother William (Bill) Ruisinger, Jr., of Columbus and a sister Catherine A. Mathers of Dallas Texas, a nephew, several nieces and great nieces, several cousins and many friends. Per Jim’s request there will be no calling hours. A Memorial Service and private interment will be at a later date. Friends may, if they wish, contribute to the Buckeye Harmony Camp Scholarship Fund or the Upper Arlington High School Athletic Department.
Memories of Jim
God rest his soul. He was a truly wonderful person. Always a joy to be around. We will miss him.
Jim Kehn, 11 December 2023
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Very sad news. I enjoyed talking to Jim when he was able to attend meetings. He was very helpful to me.
Bob Baker, 11 December 2023
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I first met Jim when he ran a hobby shop on Sawmill. That was a loooong time ago. What a great modeler, who was always willing to share advice and do things for the hobby and NMRA. Another loss that will be tough to deal with. Too young to leave us. Sad time.
Jerry Severson, 11 December 2023
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I remember working with Jimmy, Butch, Bill and Bob when we were working Mall Shows which raised considerable funds at the time. We would set up and be there till early morning to get them ready for the next day and over the weekends. Such wonderful memories.
Darrell Logan, 12 December 2023
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We have lost a wonderful friend and model railroader. May he rest in peace. Patrick
Patrick Hreachmack, 12 December 2023
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Jim was a fine modeler and friend. One of the 1st modelers I met at a Division 6 meeting. Finding out that we both had an interest in logging, he certainly shared a lot of helpful information with me. Sometime later he founded COLA (Central Ohio Loggers Association) of which he was the President and I was the membership! We will miss him at Division meetings, as he always had some interesting and very insightful comments. Howdy Lamprecht , 12 December 2023
Mall shows in the eighties. I had almost forgotten about those. Good times!
Jim Kehn, 12 December 2023
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Mall Shows oh how the public loved them and we all show off our talents and our trains. Could you imagine what would have happened if we had DCC and the goodies that go with DCC? After we would finish setup at 0 Dark 30 it was off to house, grab some fast sleep do your SSS and off to work and then to the mall show and enjoy the people and children admiring the trains.
Of course we had several of us setting around doing DEMO to catch peoples attention. I remember ‘Doc’ doing his tree making, BOB S building a bridge, an many more working on different item.
Darrell Logan, 12 December 2023
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So sad to hear this news. I'll never forget Jim dispatching at the Model Railroad building at the State Fair. We had these wireless headsets that were on the same radio channel as the headsets used by the tram that ran around the fair. One day when the tram approached, Jim became a pilot on approach to Port Columbus, and declared an emergency... the tram operators didn't know what to do and started scanning the sky for the wayward plane.
His humor will be missed. As will his knowledge. Just a few months ago Jim shared with me his secret for making realistic looking dirt roads. I've yet to try it, but when I do, will pass it on in a clinic... with credit to the master, of course.
Terry Bacus, 12 December 2023