Funeral services are coming at the end of next week for Gary Rulon, a longtime judge at the local and state levels.
Rulon passed away Wednesday at the age of 83 following a lengthy illness. Services will be at 10 am Aug. 31 at the Grace United Methodist Church of Olathe. Visitation will precede the funeral at 9 am, with a graveside service following at Shawnee Mission Memory Garden.
A Topeka native, Rulon began his work career as a plumbing apprentice before enlisting in the US Navy in 1962. After his honorable discharge in 1964, Rulon attained his undergraduate and law degrees from Washburn University and moved to Emporia to begin his private law practice. Rulon became a staff attorney for the US 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver before returning to Emporia, serving as chief judge for the Fifth District between 1981-1987.
Rulon’s next appointment was to the Kansas Court of Appeals in 1988. He served as chief judge from 2001 until his retirement in 2011.
Besides his time on the bench, Rulon was a past member of the Kansas Bar Association, was a one-time vice chair of the Kansas Sentencing Commission, a member of the Kansas Judicial Council’s Pattern instructions for Kansas Committee and a member of the Council of Chief Judges of the States Court of Appeals in the United States.
Statement from current Kansas Court of Appeals Chief Judge Karen Arnold-Burger
“My colleagues on the Kansas Court of Appeals and I were saddened to learn of Judge Gary Rulon’s passing.
Judge Rulon was a thoughtful, fair, and wise judge who served the residents of this state honorably for 30 years. We are fortunate to count 23 of those years with the Kansas Court of Appeals, the last 10 as chief judge.
We will miss our colleague and his steady hand in guiding our court through difficult times.
Our thoughts are with his wife, Pat, his children, and grandchildren.”
