Troy Horace Rutledge

Troy was a World War II veteran, in which he served as a bomber machine gunner in the Army Air Corps. Troy was extremely proud of his military service and loved to wear shirts and hats that spoke of his time in WW2. If he was wearing one of his WWII veteran T-shirts out in public, people liked to come up and thank him for his service, to which he would invariably reply “I was just doing my duty.”

Troy attended Mississippi State University on the GI Bill, graduating in 1949. He spent most of his working life, until retirement, as the plant engineer for Tennessee Gas in Mississippi. He met and married his wife Frances (Gaulden) in 1949 and they were blessed with three children, Barbara in 1952, Terry in 1956 and Donald in 1958. They eventually made their forever home in Bay Saint Louis in 1967. In 2005, Troy, Frances and Don rode out Hurricane Katrina in their Bay St. Louis home. Troy, ever the handyman, did the majority of work on rebuilding his home, allowing he and Frances to live in Bay St. Louis until Frances’ death in 2015.

Troy was a kind and generous man and a long time deacon of the First Baptist Church. He was quietly introverted, and yet humorous and popular with all who knew him. Troy enjoyed hunting and fishing as a young man, and always had a plentiful garden in his backyard as an adult. He was known in the family to make wonderful seafood gumbo, boiled peanuts and fresh homemade peach ice cream.

Troy leaves this world with the deep love and respect of his entire family, whom he served energetically, faithfully, and wisely his entire life. As the world was a better place with him, so shall be heaven.

Troy is preceded in death by his parents, all seven siblings (TJ, Tracy, Inez, Shirley, Sarah and Tessie Bell) and his wife Frances. Survivors include: daughter Barbara Dacus (Farron) of Dallas, Tx., sons Terry Rutledge (Alana) of Bay St. Louis and Donald Rutledge (Scott) of Hammond, La.. Granddaughter Holly Natale (Mark) of Celina, Tx. and grandsons Ben Jones (Shelby) of Frisco, Tx, Daniel Rutledge and Joseph Rutledge of Bay St. Louis. Great grandchildren, Grayson and Scarlett Jones and Knox and Mia Natale.

Funeral services will be held at First Baptist Church in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi on Tuesday, January 2, 2024. Visitation is 10:00 a.m. till 11:00 a.m. Funeral at 11:00 a.m. Military honors and burial will follow at Gulf Coast Memorial Cemetery in Bay Saint Louis.

Edmond Fahey Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Troy Rutledge.