Keith Richard Rulison

Dec 11, 1943 -

Feb 5, 2020

Our loved one, Keith, passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020.

Keith was the second of three sons born to Ethel and Vernon Rulison, in Santa Maria, Calif. He was raised on a small ranch in the Arroyo Grande area, attending a one-room elementary schoolhouse. His early years were filled with roaming the canyon, riding his horse Dusty, and working at a neighboring dairy. He was particularly proud of his 1947 red Chevy coupe that he restored.

After graduating from Arroyo Grande High School in 1961, Keith worked as a firefighter for Santa Barbara County. In 1965, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to Alaska. Son Tim was born to Keith and his wife, Trillis Birdseye, while living in Fairbanks. Daughter Kathleen was born en route from Tok to Glennallen in a State Trooper vehicle during a snowstorm. Keith worked as an enforcement officer with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Fairbanks and Tok. In 1971, he began working for U.S. Customs, stationed in Ketchikan and later moving to Anchorage, where he worked as supervisor at the Anchorage International Airport. He retired in 1999. In 1990, Keith met Deb Bruneau through mutual, outdoor-oriented friends. They married in 2011 in a small ceremony officiated by Keith's son-in-law, Scott Griffith, and attended by friends and family in person and online. Keith was a skilled carpenter and built a remote cabin on the Kenai Peninsula, where he spent hours hunting for agates. He enjoyed helping friends and family with home building projects, many of which included his dear friend Tim Meyer. Keith also enjoyed gardening, birding, hiking, traveling, a freshly cut lawn and dearly loved having cats in his lap throughout his life. Keith is survived by his wife, Debra Bruneau; son, Tim (Carrie) Rulison; daughter, Kathleen (Scott) Griffith; brother, Craig (Betty) Rulison; former wife and friend, Trillis Birdseye. He was preceded in death by his parents, Vernon and Ethel Rulison; and brother, Vernon Grant Rulison. A celebration of Keith's life will be held on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020, at 2 p.m. at Holy Spirit Center Resurrection Chapel, 10980 Hillside Drive in Anchorage. Keith was deeply touched by the film "Tashi and the Monk" about the Jhamtse Gatsal Children's Community. Memorials may be directed to www.jhamtse.com/rulison.