2004 Hall of Fame Inductees

Harry E. “Bud” Fear, JHS Class of 1944

Harry E. “Bud” Fear began his career in the hotel business while still in school, where he combined athletics and Glee club with part-time employment as a bellhop at the Johnstown Hotel, the lowest rung on a ladder that would lead to his eventual rise as one of the best known hotelmen in the nation. After serving as an infantryman with the 34th Division in the Italian Campaign, Fear served for twenty years as vice president and general manager for Sheraton Hotels, where he was cited for his many innovative sales and marketing techniques. Those skills enabled Mr. Fear to convince Rise Stevens to bring the Metropolitan Opera Company to Indianapolis to spend the summer offering opera workshops and performing major operas on the campus of Butler University, for which the Governor presented him with Indiana’s highest civilian award, “Sagamore of the Wabash.”

Mr. Fear later joined Executive House Hotels as executive vice president, where he was responsible for over site of hotels in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Chicago and New York, and the development of hotels in Surinam, Puerto Rico, Bon Aire and Curacao, while being instrumental in making Aruba a popular tourist destination. Fear’s unique sense of humor quickly made Executive House a favorite stop for many famous stars of stage and screen as well as sports and political personalities. It was during this time he was named one of the top 100 hotelmen in America. Fear frequently shared his experiences with students at colleges and schools featuring hotel and restaurant management in their curriculum.

Now retired from the hotel business, Mr. Fear volunteers his time to Food for the Poor, a relief organization in South Florida that builds homes and schools for oppressed areas in the Caribbean, and uses his fundraising talents to assist with building churches, homes and schools in El Salvador, a country ravaged by twelve years of civil war, two hurricanes and a major draught. He has also been instrumental in raising funds for the poor in Haiti and Jamaica.

Donald R. Ruch, DMD, JHS Class of 1974

After graduating from JHS, Donald R. Ruch enrolled at Syracuse University and in 1978 received a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1982 he completed the degree Doctor of Dental Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Ruch then joined the National Health Service Corps, where he served until 1986 as part of a comprehensive health care team providing care to adults and children in needy communities. Following his service with the NHSC, Dr. Ruch enrolled in the Graduate Periodontic program at Temple University, completing his studies in 1988, after which he began his private dental practice in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania.

In 1999 Dr. Ruch answered a plea for help in his church bulletin and began traveling to Kensington in inner city North Philadelphia twice each month to volunteer his time and talents, providing desperately needed emergency dental care and basic restorative treatment to the impoverished and homeless who come to the House of Grace Catholic Workers Free Health Clinic. Dr. Ruch also helps to collect donations and supplies and, after his inspirational story appeared in the Pennsylvania Dental Journal, an X-ray machine was secured for the clinic.

In February 2002, Dr. Ruch and his staff were cited by Aetna Dental Plans for their efforts in rendering care to the underprivileged. Representatives of Aetna wrote that they were amazed that Dr. Ruch finds time to help those in need. “He uses his skills as a dentist to make the world a better place.”

“He is a compassionate man and it shows.”